The Ups and Downs Of Being Ann
by Moonlit Dreaming
Summary: Ann's life is never normal. Just when it seems to be perfect something always comes along and ruins everything. Will she find happiness or will it evade her as always? FoMT. Complete.
1. A Positive Outlook

_**Disclaimer-** I don't own Harvest Moon._

_**Author's note-** This fic is based on HM: FoMT._

Chapter 1- A Positive Outlook

"Ann! Hello?" Mary impatiently waved a hand in front of her best friend's face to get her attention.

"What! Er...sorry, Mary," Ann apologised quickly. She sat up straighter on her friend's bed. "What were you saying about Gray?"

Mary laughed. "You were thinking about about Jack, weren't you?" she teased, her eyes glittering mischeiviously behind her thick glasses.

"No!" Ann replied feistily, despite the fact that her face was almost as red as her hair. She promtly threw a cushion at Mary nearly knocking her off her stool. Mary surfaced, glasses at an odd angle and threw one back.

Within minutes things had esculated with both girls giggling uncontrollably as cushions flew in all directions. Suddenly the door to Mary's bedroom was thrown open and Mary's mother, Anna, appeared her pale skin unusually flushed.

"Girls! Whatever is this this racket!" she looked around the room wearily. "Aren't you to a little bit old for such childish behaviour?" Anna gave Ann an accusing look that suggested that Ann was a bad influence on her daughter.

"The way I see it Mrs Parker, we should all let our hair down once in while. Laughter is very good for you, you know!" Anna frowned, looking as though she didn't know. Mary sniggered, but stopped after seeing the look on her mother's face.

"Hadn't you better be getting back to the Inn, dear?" Anna asked trying and failing to be polite towards Ann.

"No. Dad said I didn't have to help him today so I could spent time with Mary on her day off from the Library. Great, huh?" she replied cheerfully.

"Fabulous," said Anna monotonously. She finally turned to leave, to Ann's imense relief. "Oh, and Mary dear please clean yourself up a bit. You're a young woman now and women take pride in their appearance," she hissed at her daughter. "They do not have have silly pilow fights and giggle like schoolgirls!"

Ann rolled her eyes as Mary's bedroom door closed with a snap. Mary grinned back at her and they both laughed.

"Hmm, your mom's a bit of a bore isn't she?" Ann said thoughtfully, falling back onto Mary's soft bed.

"You only just noticed!" Mary laughed bitterly. "Still, I suppose she's right in a way. I do need to grow up a bit." She turned to face the mirror.

"Nonsense! Don't listen to your mother. You're perfect already," Ann stood behind Mary and began to brush her friend's thick black hair. "Gray certainly thinks so! I saw you two cosied up together at the Fireworks Festival!"

The Fireworks Festival had been a held on Mineral Beach a few days ago to sinify the end of summer. It had been a special day for Ann too. Her and Jack had sat to watch the fireworks together, something that couples traditionally do in Mineral Town. She hadn't seen Jack since though, but guessed that he was probably too busy on the farm to visit.

"Well, me and Gray have been close for a while and as I had been trying to say earlier we're just friends," Mary explained.

Ann suddenly snorted indignantly. "Yeah right! I've seen that look in your eyes when you talk about him. I've seen the way he blushes when you get near him. Don't try to kid me Mary Parker!" She grabbed Mary by her shoulders and spun her round so that the girls were facing each other.

"Alright! So maybe I do like him as more than a friend but I'm sure he doesn't feel the same way," Mary answered sadly. "He just likes books that's all."

Shaking her head in disbelief so her long ginger plait wiggled back and forth, Ann dismissed her best friend's comment and replied simply, "He likes you Mary."

"I hope so," Mary whispered, more to herself than Ann.

Later that day, Ann almost skipped along the streets of Mineral Town. Not suprisingly she hadn't been invited to stay for tea at Mary's. But she didn't care, after all her father was one of the best cooks in town.

Leaves of gold, russet, and deep brown whirled around Ann's feet as she made her way home and a cool breeze whipped at her face. It didn't bother her though. She loved the Fall more than any other season. This suprised most people because Fall also happened to be the season Ann's mother died in. However, Ann knew her mother would not have wanted her full of fun, lively daughter to think of her with sadness. And there was something about Fall that gave Ann hope. It was the undeniable beauty of the leaves even on the verge of death, as if they were putting on a final show to remind people that they were not gone for good.

Ann reached the Inn far too soon for her liking so she stood outside for a few minutes in the enveloping darkness.

Her thoughts soon turned to the hansome Jack. She had to admit that she was glad that the topic hadn't come back up at Mary's as she wanted to keep these wonderful feelings about him to herself. For now anyway.

Eventually, Ann decided to visit Jack at his farm tomorrow morning. They could chat if he wasn't too busy and if he was then she would offer to help out. Either way she would invite him to come and have lunch at the Inn with her afterwards. It would be perfect. Her face hot at the very thought and grinning madly with excitement Ann ran inside feeling that things were about to keep going her way.

* * *

_A/n- That chapter is short, I know, but it's just a sort of opening chapter and the others will be longer. I want to find out what people think so please review. Thanks!_


	2. A Time To Think

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harvest Moon. _

_**Authors note:** Thanks to all who reviewed the first chapter, it means a lot to me to know what you think of my writing._

Chapter 2- Time to think

Ann knew that something was wrong the second she turned into Jack's farm early the next morning. The lush green farm in front of her was bathed in weak Fall sunlight, that caused the pond next to the old apple tree to glitter beautifully. Yet the the air was crisp and cold. The weather didn't bother her though. It was the look on Jack's face when he looked up from watering some crops and saw her stood in the entrance. His face looked stricken at the sight of her to say the least.

"Oh. Ann...hi," he said, distractedly, tugging at the strand of dark, brown hair that poked out from underneath his backward facing baseball cap. Dropping the watering can he wandered towards her looking slighty uncomfortable.

"Well, don't look so enthusiastic to see me!" Ann chuckled pretending she found the situation funny. Meanwhile, thoughts of confusion whirled around her head. She felt totally embarassed and utterly bewildered to be honest. Why was he acting so frosty? Well, more than frosty really, more like glacial! What had she done? She thought the two of them had been getting more friendly, if anything, over the past year. Jack visited the Inn most days and always spoke to Ann. Sometimes he had even brought her gifts. Nothing huge, maybe some wild flowers or produce from the farm perhaps. Sometimes it was as simple as half the cookie he was eating or a square or two from his bar of chocolate, but it always made Ann feel special and wanted. They never went a day without talking to each other.

Then, Ann remembered that Jack hadn't been to the Inn in days. She'd barely seen him since the Fireworks Festival...

"Ann? Are you ok?" Jack's voice broke through Ann's thoughts suddenly. "Look, sorry if I seem a bit off right now it's just-"

"No, Jack, it's ok honestly. Forget it!" she blurted out quickly, and turned to leave.

His hand was on her shoulder suddenly and she felt herself melt on the spot. She couldn't leave now even if she really wanted to.

"Come inside. Please?" Jack asked.

Sitting at Jack's large wooden kitchen table in his cosy farmhouse Ann watched as he made them each of them a glass of fruit juice. His little dog, Buttons leapt up around her feet, his glistening pink tongue hanging down as he tried to lick her hand. Patting Buttons' soft, brown head she noticed the worried frown on Jack's face as he poured the freshly made juice into two glasses.

"Thanks," Ann said taking a long draught from her glass. She placed it back on the table. "What's wrong, Jack?"

He hesitated. Then, sighed. "I'm gonna be ruined, Ann," he told her. "A few days ago one of my chickens looked a bit unwell, so I bought some animal medcine. Well, I thought it had worked, right? But then last night a few more looked ill, and of course Poultry Farm was closed so I couldn't buy more. Then, this morning I went in and every single chicken in the coop was dead!"

"Oh Jack! I'm so sorry," Before she had realised what she was doing Ann grabbed his hand. Blushing magenta, she dropped it quickly and fortunately, he seemed too preoccupied to notice one way or the other.

"It gets worse!" Jack groaned. "My cow, Honey...I-I think I must have passed the disease, whatever it was, on to her somehow. She died a few hours ago. And she was pregnant! So that's 3000G worth of Miracale Potion wasted!"

Without being aware of actually standing up, Ann was on her feet.

"Is that all you care about? Money?" she raged at a shocked Jack. "Never mind that half your animals have just died suddenly, and probably painfully! All you care about is whether you'll still be able to buy that fancy new TV that you wanted!"

"What?! It's not like that! Stop being so ridiculous, Ann!" Jack yelled in defence, also leaping to his feet.

"Don't call me ridiculous you heartless, materialistic...man!" Ann screamed, as Buttons' ran and hid under Jack's bed. She didn't know where her sudden anger had come from, but she was never one to back down in an argument.

Jack, it appeared, was one of those people. "Look, Ann...I didn't mean it like that," he said. "I'm sorry if I've offended you in any way, it's-"

"I'm going now, ok?" she interrupted stonily, in a voice quite unlike her own. Jack nodded sadly, looking slighty disappointed.

The icy air outside the farmhouse caused goosebumps to rise up on Ann's bare arms and she wrapped them tight around her. She decided to head south of the farm so she could visit the Goddess Pond which was nestled in the mountains. She barely noticed the tiring journey as all she could think about was Jack, Jack and more Jack.

Ann knew she'd never felt like this about anyone before, yet she'd never screamed at anyone as loudly as she just had back at his house. How conflicting, she thought, but then again maybe arguments are part of a healthy realationship?

Not suprisingly, Popuri was stood next to the gushing waterfall at the Goddess Pond when Ann arrived. She was throwing flowers into the crystal clear water. Offerings to the Harvest Goddess, who was said to dwell in the pond. Gifts were supposed to make the Goddess happy, so she would bless Mineral Town with bountiful harvests and healthy animals. Ann wasn't sure whether or not she believed in the Goddess. Afterall, not everyone in town did. Popuri though seemed to be a firm believer.

Ann liked Popuri, not as much as Mary of course, but she was ok for a chat and a giggle if you were in the mood for her bubbly attitude. Today though, Ann most definately wasn't. She just wanted to think.

Ann sat on a damp tree stump and winced as the cold spread up through her overalls. She wanted to watch the clouds drift by, but it was a clear morning. Sighing, she put her head in her hands.

"Hey Ann! Haven't seen you up here lately, busy were you?" Ann looked up into Popuri's big, red eyes and smiling face. Her soft, candy floss pink hair was swept back from her blushed cheeks.

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't sit there if I were you," Popuri shook her head. "Eww! Look there's a spider right by your feet. Yuck!"

"I don't mind them actually."

"Oh, I do! I have to get my big brother, Rick, to get rid of them for me. And that reminds me, I've got to get back to Poultry Farm to help him and mom. Bye Ann."

"Bye." As Popuri scurried away, Ann felt a twinge of guilt. She knew that she should really get back to the Inn and help her dad out. Deep down, however, she knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate on work. She knew who she needed. Mary.

-------------------------------------

Half an hour later, Ann arrived outside the Library, in North Mineral Town. The Library was built on to the side of Mary's house and Mary worked there most days, even though they got very few vistors.

Ann pushed open the door and stepped inside. The first thing she noticed was that her best friend was not stood, as usual, behind her desk. Very odd, Ann thought, Mary never left the Library unattended. She searched between tall, dusty bookcases that reached the ceiling, but couldn't find anyone.

"Mary?"

Ann turned her attention towards the stairs to her right as she heard a creak from above. She stepped lightly up the worn steps knowing it was stupid but still wondering if a thief was stealing an old copy of, 101 Ways to Farm.

It wasn't a thief, it was Mary. _Mary and Gray!_ Ann felt like she was intruding even though they were just talking. She crept away silently.

Stood outside once more, Ann realised that she should be with Jack when he needed her, like Mary was with Gray. She shouldn't avoid him like some silly kid. Life was to short for that.

-------------------------------------

Ann and Jack sat next to each other in the warm farmhouse later that day. They munched chocalate and sipped pineapple juice companionably. Apologies had been said by both when Ann arrived earlier. Things were back on track, she thought, grinning to herself.

Ann's heart began to beat faster and faster as Jack put his arm around her. She turned her head towards him slowly. Waiting...

"You're a good friend, Ann." Jack told her. He took another sip of his juice and lept up to play with Buttons.

A friend, Ann thought, just a friend? _Wonderful!_


	3. What Really Matters

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harvest Moon_

_**Author's note:** Again thanks for your reviews, please keep it up!_

_  
__NightimeRoseXO- Yeah, it was pretty mean of me to kill off some of Jack's animals, but I needed a reason as to why he hadn't been able to vist Ann, and to cause an argument between them. I'll try not to be so gruesome in future. Buttons is what I called the dog in my game and I have a cow called Honey as well. Anyway, I hope you like the next chapter._

_Kairi Tsubasa- Glad you liked the chapter and I hope you like this one!_

_Ramen Forever- Thanks for your comments! I hope you enjoy the next chapter._

Chapter 3- What really matters

Ann turned over in bed for what felt like the hundreth time that night. She kept re-playing Jack's words over and over again in her head. It was driving her crazy.

"You're a good friend, Ann!"

_Aggghhhhh!_ Who wants to be just friends with someone they're mad about?

"You're a good friend, Ann!"

Why hadn't she seen it coming? It was so obvious, really, that he felt nothing but friendship for her. Their realationship hadn't been going anywhere after all, he just saw her as someone to chat to, a mate. He clearly couldn't imagine a proper realationship with her. She had no chance.

"You're a good friend, Ann!"

Shut up, shut UP, she thought, I can't bear it! Why can _nothing_ go right for me?

----------------------------------

The next morning, Ann resolved to spend her time at the Inn helping her father out. She felt she owed it to him after the last few days.

"Are you sure?" her father, Doug, asked her. He ran a hand through his flaming red hair. "You don't look like you had much sleep last night. Neither did I actually, so I know how you feel. I was thinking about today as well."

"Huh? What's so special about today?" Ann was baffled. "Am I missing something?"

"Oh. Er...I thought... um...never mind." Disappointment suddenly flashed in her dad's eyes, but Ann had no idea why. He turned away and slipped into the back room, mumbling something about supplies. Leaving Ann very confused. Manna, the owner of the winery, was stood at the counter so Ann went to serve her.

"Good morning. Can I take your order?" she enquired, automatically.

"Yes please. Ooh, lets see now! I'll have the toast with grape jam. No, wait! I'll have strawberry jam on the toast, please. Yes. Oh and a drink of course. Um...well now what do I fancy this morning? Lets see-"

Ann didn't know what Manna fancied. She didn't care either. She knew Manna was getting on her nerves, but that was about it. The pained smile on Ann's face was by now completely false.

All of a sudden, Manna stopped mid-rant. For the first time in her life picking up on someone's impatience. She grabbed Ann's hand and held it tight.

"Oh you poor, poor girl! Here's me going on and on about silly things, when all you can think about is you poor, dear mother." Ann was on the verge of asking her what on earth she was talking about, when she remembered. Her mom. The anniverrsary of her death was...today! Guilt, hot and painful, washed over Ann. And she hated it. More to the point she hated herself. How could she forget such an important date? She was so wrapped up in her own petty troubles she forgot about her own mother.

Feeling numb and overcome with sadness, she hurriedly gave Manna her order and rushed after her father.

"Dad, I'm so sorry. I just forgot," Ann gabbled after finding him stood in the backroom.

" Ann, what have I hold you about leaving the Inn unnattened?" he sighed, as though he didn't have time for her. Left alone in the backroom while her father served in the Inn Ann collappsed into a chair at the kitchen table.

"What's wrong with me?" she breathed. "Nothing's going right..." Clutching her head in despair Ann allowed tears to drip silently down her face. Faint memories of her mother crept into her head. Memories of big, blue eyes, flowing auburn hair and a soft lavender scent were all she had. Yet the love she felt for her mother was so great, so powerful...

"I still forgot, though, didn't I?" she whispered to the empty room. Or so she thought.

"Ann? You've got a vistor. They're waiting for you out front," her dad muttered from the doorway. He looked ever so slightly uncomfortable. "Ann? I'm sorry I was harsh with you. It's not your fault, I know that."

"It's fine dad. Honestly!" she even managed to laugh at the worried look on his face. A quick dab with a tissue and Ann felt ready to face the public.

Jack was sat at a table in the front of the Inn. He began to wave wildly when he saw Ann emerge from the back room. How can it be that we are not made for each other, she thought sadly. Externally though she grinned as she slipped into the seat opposite Jack.

"Chocolate?" Jack mumbled through a mouthful of sugary gloop. He held out a square.

"Chocolate this early? No thanks!" she told him, beginning to relax. "You're mad!"

He laughed. "I know! It's great isn't it?" They sat in silence for a while, but it wasn't arkward, though. It was peaceful. Ann loved to be able to think.

Jack had finally finished his chocolate bar. "So are you coming with me to Mother's Hill then?" he asked Ann. Jack was often like this, spontaneous and upfront. That was one of the many reasons why Ann liked him. And she was so tempted to spend time with him in the fresh air of Mother's Hill.

"I'd love to Jack, I really would! But I have to help dad out here today," she said, disappointed. "I am sorry!"

"No you don't!" Doug was suddenly stood behind Ann's chair. "Go out, Ann. Have fun!" he told her. "I'm closing early this afternoon, anyway."

"Dad..."

"Don't argue with me, Ann," he interuppted. "Go on!"

---------------------------------

The emerald grass beneath Ann and Jack made a comfortable carpet as they sat underneath a tree on Mother's Hill. It was bitterly cold on the mountain that morning despite the bright, glaring sunlight. The large lake spread out in front of them was shimmering gorgeously.

"We're so lucky to live so close to such natural beauty, aren't we?" Ann asked Jack quietly.

"Yeah," he answered. Ann knew he wasn't really listening. She didn't mind though. She was enjoying the tranquilty. Ann leant back against the tree trunk and closed her eyes. All her worries over Jack seemed to fade away. He clearly cared for her and that was all that mattered. It wasn't that important that he didn't feel as strongly as her, not really. Ann was struggling to convince herself by this point. She desperately wished it was simple, she loved him and he would love her back. Perfect...

"Ann! Look!" Jack was shaking her arm excitedly. Her eyes snapped open. "Look, a rabbit. Isn't it cute?" Ann grinned as they watched the little ball of white fluff bounce away. That was another thing that attracted her to Jack. His passion for wildlife. Ann couldn't believe how simular they were.

"C'mon, lets go for a walk or something. We'll freeze just sitting around doing nothing," she suggested. "Hey, we could go up to the peak of Mother's Hill! I haven't been in ages." Ann was on her feet, already excited even though Jack hadn't agreed to come yet.

He was looking at his watch. "Ok, but then I should get back to the farm. Nutmeg could use a ride." he answered finally. Nutmeg was Jack's horse. And three times winner of the horse races in Rose Square, so it was important that he was kept in shape. Ann had even rode Nutmeg once. It was during the Summer and the memory still brought a happy smile to her lips. She wasn't a particularly good rider, but luckily Nutmeg was a patient horse and Jack a patient instructor. It had been so much fun especially when she kept falling off and all Jack could do was laugh, never mind help her. Ann had found it equally amusing, which was good news for Jack because if she hadn't he would almost certainly still be in the hospital. Back then Ann was sure Jack felt the same as she did for him. She couldn't help but sigh nostalgically.

"What's wrong? I said I'd come, didn't I?" Jack asked, not realising why she had sighed. He looked confused.

"Race ya!" Ann yelled. She spun on her heel and teared off around the corner, trampling flowers in her haste. She couldn't explain her sudden need to break away from Jack. She just had to get away. His presence was suffocating her.

She raced higher up Mother's Hill towards the peak. The wind rushed past her, it was so loud and it was all she could hear. She had no idea as to whether Jack was following her or not.

Ann stopped abruptly. If she took another step she would plunge through thin air to an almost certain messy fate below. She had reached the highest point of Mother's Hill, there was nothing more. In front of her stretched a vast, endless ocean of blue. Not a single cloud marked the pure sky that morning. It was so beautiful...

"ANN, DON'T DO IT!" Jack's voice pierced the calm morning. Ann couldn't see his face, but she could clearly hear the desperation in his voice. She tried to reassure him but he interrupted her instantly.

"Look, I don't know what's going on in your head right now, but we'll sort it out." he whispered. "I promise, you Ann. Just please don't jump!"

Does he honestly think I'm that stupid, Ann thought. She couldn't believe how badly he'd got this wrong. Ann turned to face him. Too quickly. A rock beneath her feet gave way suddenly.

"JAAACCKK!" she screamed as she lost her balance. She tumbled backwards over the edge.

Jack darted foward, out of nowhere. His hand gripped hers tightly. Ann, her legs dangling hopelessly with nothing beneath them, stared into his deep, brown eyes willing him to hold on. To save her. And he did.

Ann shook badly in Jack's arms as he held her. They were crouched away from the edge, Ann breathing out 'thankyou' again and again.

After a few minutes had passed Ann spoke up properly. "I didn't mean for that to happen, you know." she told Jack. "I wasn't going to jump, it was an accident."

Jack didn't reply. In fact he didn't say a word until they were safely by the forest at the foot of Mother's Hill. He looked Ann directly in the eyes, just like she had done to him as he pulled her to safety.

"You're safe. Nothing else matters," Then, he did something totally unexpected.

He kissed her. It wasn't a meaningless peck on the cheek either. It was a proper, adult kiss. It all happened so fast Ann didn't even have the chance to kiss him back. It was so brief, so fleeting that Ann felt sure she must have imagined it. Yet every tiny second that her lips touched his were the best few seconds of her life. Nothing at all mattered when they were together. Nothing came close.

But then they were apart. He had gone without a word. And suddenly the world seemed bigger and emptier than ever before.


	4. Winter's Icy Grasp

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harvest Moon._

_**Author's note:** Thanks for all reviews, I love getting them!_

NightimeRoseXO- The deaths of the animals were a one-off, so the problem won't happen again. Jack does have some animals left though, some sheep. There's more on this in the next chapter anyway. Thanks for your review.

_Pyro's Elektra- Thanks for the review and your obvious enthusiasm for the kiss scenes!_

_Ekoaleko- Glad you enjoyed that chapter! Thanks for reviewing!_

_Sarah303- Glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope you like this chapter._

Chapter 4- Winter's icy grasp

Winter had arrived in Mineral Town. It brought with it harsh winds, furious blizzards and sparkling, but often lethal patches of ice. Short sleeves had become a thing of the past and scarves were popular once more. The people of Mineral Town had been forced indoors by the brutal weather, but most were in good spirits as it was the perfect opportunity to lounge by the fire rather than actually doing anything costructive. Everyone was happy. Everyone execpt Ann. She hadn't been in such a foul mood since her father made her release her 'pet' worms when she was six. And as far as she was concerned there was no one to blame, no one except Jack Taylor.

Ann barely did anything other than work at the Inn and there was certainly plenty to do, even though they only had two guests. She worked hard serving bowl after bowl of stew to costumers with red, runny noses and streaming eyes. It wasn't exactly her idea of fun, but one thing she did know was that it kept her mind off Jack.

After her near death experience on Mother's Hill, which Ann had not told anyone about, except Mary, her and Jack's friendship hadn't been the same. Everytime he visited he would barely look her in the eye, let alone have a proper conversation with her. In Ann's book that was simply cowardly behaviour and her best friend Mary agreed. All hopes of a wonderful, romantic future with him had been cruelly dashed and Ann was trying hard to move on.

* * *

Popuri visited the Inn one morning along with Minerals Town's youngest residents, May and Stu. Ann, who had been working solidly for the past few days, smiled at the children and gave them free cookies.

"Thanks Ann!" they cried joyfully, licking the crumbs off their fingers. May, granddaughter of the owner of Yodel Farm, peered shyly out of her long, dark brown locks and smiled at Ann.

"We're on our way to have a snowball fight by the woods." May told her excitedly.

Ann crouched down to the five year old's level. "_Are _you?" she asked the two of them in her best childrens voice.

Stu nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Popuri's taking us aren't you?" He hung on to Popuri's hand, dancing around as he spoke.

"It's gonna be mad trying to control them both." Popuri muttered to Ann once she was stood up again. "I don't suppose you'll join us, will you? It'd be a real help!"

"Please come Ann!" Stu begged. "We did ask my big sister, Elli, but she was to busy looking after Nana Ellen to come."

Popuri blushed scarlet with embarrassment, but Ann laughed.

Kids, she thought, you can always rely on them to be tactless!

* * *

"AAAaaahhhh!" Popuri screamed as a huge lump of snow hit her hard in face. Ann, May and Stu yelped with helpless laughter as she scraped ice out of her eyes.

"I'll get you this time Ann Lawson!" Popuri screeched gathering armfulls of snow. Ann snorted. She wasn't worried, she would have been more concerned had Popuri been aiming for the tree at least ten metres to her right. Predictably, the poorly made snowball fell short of it's target. Again.

I bet she wished she never invited me, Ann thought happily. She was enjoying every minute of this and so were Stu and May by the looks of it. The two children scampered around in the deep snow, May building a snowman and Stu attempting to demolish it . The snowball fight was now between the adults. Something told Ann that she was going to win.

"Is this is a private snowball fight or can anyone join in?" Ann's head turned sharply in the direction of Jack's voice. He was stood on the path that led from his farm to the forest in the far south of Mineral Town. Ann couldn't help but notice the wistful look in his eyes as he watched them. However, she was determined not to let him get to her anymore.

"No, it's a private fight. You can't join." Ann told him, before anyone could interrupt. Jack shrugged, looking hurt, then carried on his way back along the path to his farm.

Popuri rushed over to Ann. "That was _very_ rude of you! Why were you so mean to Jack? What's he done to you?" she asked with a curious look on her face.

Even little May joined in. "Yes, Ann! Why were you so nasty? Grandpa says Jack's had a hard time on the farm lately. He came by and bought a cow the other day." she informed Ann. "Grandpa says Jack's cow died. Is that why you were mean to him? It's not his fault! Grandpa says these things happen sometimes. He says there's nothing anyone can do. I hope it doesn't happen to my dog, Hannah!" she added sadly. Ann smiled and put her arm around May reassuring her that Hannah would be fine.

"Now, who's up for giving Popuri another thrashing?" she asked as Popuri shrieked and ran in the opposite direction.

* * *

A few days later, Ann was perched on the edge of Mary's desk in the Library as her friend sorted through numerous dusty hardbacks behind her.

"Stop that, please." Mary muttered distractedly as Ann kicked her dangling legs repeatedly against the desk.

"Sorry."

"Ann...?" Mary squeaked nervously.

"What?"

"Well...you and Jack-"

Ann swung her legs around so that she was facing Mary who was looking anywhere, but Ann. "Look, Mary. There is no 'me and Jack'. Ok?" she told her forcefully.

Mary didn't answer straight away. She continued to hum tunelessly as she rearranged books. "Well, I know he treated you badly, but I think now he feels sorry for what he did." Mary said, fairly. "Maybe you should at least let him talk to you."

"No way!" Ann replied instanly.

"If you don't mind me saying so, you were very unkind to him at the snowball fight." Mary was now inspecting a book a little too carefully.

Ann thought hard. Maybe she had been too harsh on Jack...

"I guess I could have been a bit nicer...wait, wait, WAIT! How do _you_ know what I said at that fight? I haven't even told you! Who did?"

"Mmm?"

" _Mary!_"

"Yes?"

"Who told you what I said? It was Popuri wasn't it? _So,_ she's gone and spread it around town!"

"_No!_ No, it wasn't, honestly. It-it was my mom." Mary told Ann quietly.

"How on earth did she know?" Ann wondered aloud. Mary hesitated for a while before saying anything more.

"I think Sasha Greene told her." Mary breathed, looking quite sick. "You know the one married to the supermarket owner?"

"Yes, yes. Of course I know! Mother of that Karen." Ann couldn't help calling Sasha's daughter 'that Karen'. Karen was a very pretty girl, she had long light brown hair and round green eyes, just like her mother. She was Ann and Mary's age, but seemed to think she was above all the other girls in Mineral Town. Ann had never really liked her, but knew that boys often did.

"Oh Ann." Mary whispered sadly.

"What is it?" Ann asked, a sense of anxiety growing in the pit of her stomach. "Tell me?"

"It's just that, well, I think it Jack told Karen what you said. Then, she told her mother who told my mother...and apparently Sasha says they seem to be dating." Mary took a sharp intake of breath as though expecting an explosion from Ann, who was dumbstruck. "I _am _sorry!"

"Not as sorry as I am." Ann mumurmed, as her world crumbled around her.


	5. Moving On

_**Disclaimer-** I don't own Harvest Moon._

_**Author's note-** Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed. NightimeRoseOX, Sarah303, Ekoaleko, Pyro's Elektra and Kairi Tsubasa thank you all for your support!_

Chapter 5- Moving on

"Maybe you should try to get yourself a different boyfriend?" Mary asked Ann carefully.

The two girls sat opposite each other in the Inn at lunchtime. It was a few days before the StarryNight Festival, where girls traditionally ask their boyfriends to dinner with them, and their families. Except Ann didn't have anyone to ask this year, in fact she'd never asked anyone before. She had thought that this year would be different. How badly could I have got that wrong, Ann thought bitterly.

"Ann? I said, why don't you think about dating a different boy?" Mary asked her again.

Shaking her head, Ann sighed. "Like who? Everyone's paired up!" she added, trying desperately not to sound too bitter.

"What about Popuri's brother, Rick?" Ann couldn't even imagine it. Rick was definately not her type. He was tall and thin with blonde hair and big, round glasses, which wasn't really a problem. _But_ he was mad about Karen.

"He'd never go out with me, anyway." Ann told Mary. "He'd be too busy wondering why Karen dumped him for Jack!" Silence fell between the girls suddenly. Ann was left to think about the forthcoming StarryNight Festival, and how she'd have to spend it alone, again...

"Well." said Mary after several minutes. "I guess you'll just have to follow my golden rule for what to do when someone steals the boy you want to date."

"Kill her?" Ann suggested hopefully.

"No."

"Hatch a plan to break them up?" Ann cackled.

"_No_!" Mary finally lost it with Ann, who promptly stopped giggling.

"What then?" Ann asked impatiently.

Mary sat straighter in her chair. "Right." she began. "First of all be friendly, to both of them. Especially her. Don't sulk, strop, play mind games or be childish. That'll only make things worse! Just act cool about it, ok? Or, better still, look for a new realationship! Move on."

"Hmm, that's a bit of a long winded, boring rule, isn't it?" Ann thought aloud. "And I don't think there's any way I'm gonna be nice to her!"

"Move on then." Mary instructed, as though it were that simple. She glanced at her watch. "I've got to go now, sorry."

"Gray?" Ann asked sitting back in her chair and grinning up at Mary who was pulling on a scarf. Mary blushed a shade of deep pink.

"I'll take that as a yes then!" Ann laughed. "You going to invite him to your place on StarryNight then?"

"Might do." Mary mumbled through the thickness of her scarf. She and Gray had been seeing each other for a while now and Ann just knew the blacksmith's shy grandson, Gray, was the perfect boy for her bestfriend. Ann couldn't help but feel envious of their realationship. They were made for each other. Just like Ann had once thought about her and Jack. I had my chance, she thought, why did I have to be so sharp with him at that stupid snowball fight? Things could have been different, he wouldn't have gone running off to Karen for support, for a start.

After Mary had gone to meet Gray, Ann decided to go upstairs and give the rooms a serious clean. The Inn didn't get many guests, they made most of their money out of the resturant downstairs. Currently, they only had two. Gray, as there was no room for him at his grandfather's, and Cliff. Ann didn't know much about Cliff apart from the fact that he was quiet, spent a lot of time in the churh and worked in the Aja Winery. He had been staying at the Inn since before Jack arrived at Silver-Ridge Farm, and that was nearly three years ago. Yet still Ann knew virtually nothing about him.

Padding down the empty corridor that ran along the top floor of the Inn, Ann's footsteps echoed against the hard, wood flooring. She knocked at the door of the room that the two boys shared. There was no reply. Ann knew where Gray was, of course, and assumed Cliff was either working or hanging around the church. You could never tell with someone as mysterious as him. So, she pushed the door open and went inside.

Having lived at the Inn her whole life Ann knew the rooms like the back of her hand. They all followed the same basic plan. Each had three single beds lined up against the longest wall, a round wooden table, chairs and a large chest of drawers. And most had a vase of flowers, whenever Ann had the time to pick them.

* * *

Almost two hours of cleaning later, Ann's arms ached, her knees were stiff from where she had leant on them and her throat was raw because she loved to sing as she cleaned. Ann was still singing now, very loudly, as she wiped the table. She was still only on the first room, but she was thorough, and proud of it. The room was nearly done and looked absolutely spotless. Ann smiled proudly, bursting into song once more, even though she wasn't all that good at singing. 

Someone suddenly coughed behind Ann and she whipped around quickly. Cliff was stood behind her, leaning against the door frame, one eyebrow raised sceptically.

Ann's skin burned deep red. "Sorry...I...I...wasn't...didn't...ugghhh!" she blustered. "I jus-just like to sing when I clean. You weren't meant to hear!" To say she was embarrassed would be a massive understatement.

Cliff just shrugged. "S'alright." he told her. Ann watched as he made his way over to the nearest bed. Even though he had a job now Cliff's clothes still looked quite scruffy to Ann. His jacket could certainly use a wash, she thought. His hair was chocolate brown, almost blonde in places and tied back in a pony tail. The remaining strands of hair stuck out in all directions. Ann had a sudden urge to flatten it, but resisted, knowing it wouldn't go down to well with Cliff.

"Well." she said, lost for words. Cliff was carefully inspecting his fingers, he didn't react to her voice at all.

"Well." she repeated. Finally pulling herself together, Ann spoke up, "I'm done cleaning here, so I'll leave you in peace, ok?"

Ann was about to turn and run from the room. Run as far away as she could get to escape the horrible embarrassment that clouded her mind. Then, Cliff looked up. Right at her. No, _into_ her. His dark eyes burned into her pale blue ones and Ann couldn't help but notice how sad he looked, so lost. At that moment that was all she knew and had no idea how she knew it. When she could bare it no longer Ann broke away from his stare. She was out in the corridor in the blink of an eye. The door snapped shut behind her and she jumped.

_Why_ am I so on edge, Ann thought, cross with herself. So he heard me singing. So what? Who cares? Plenty of people had heard her sing before, she'd just laughed it off. So why was he so different?

* * *

"So Annie, got anyone special to invite here tommorow?" Ann's father's eyes twinkled as he studied her over tea. We're back to this again, Ann thought irritably. Every year her dad was desperate for her to invite someone home for StarryNight. Once again she watched his face fall as she told him that no, there was no special person in her life right now. Ann was fed up with it. She wanted someone special, she didn't want this bitter lonelieness that was overtaking her life. Even Jack's friendship was long gone. He rarely visited the Inn anymore, so Ann hardly saw him. And she missed him so. It was like a part of her had been snatched away. Ann hadn't realised it before, but Jack, friend or lover, had been a massive part of her life. And she badly wanted him back. 

She had tried to convince herself that Karen was stopping Jack from talking to her, but eventually she came to the conclusion that if he really wanted to speak to her, he would have found a way. Every time they passed each other in the street it was as though the bond between them had been broken leaving a gaping hole. For instance, before, the two of them could've talked for hours over...anything. But now, they'd be lucky for a simple 'hi' or 'good morning'. Ann knew it was her fault and also knew that it would be one of the biggest regrets of her life.

* * *

Ann's jaw dropped open. She knew she must look gormless, but she couldn't help it. "You're insane!" she told Mary. It was the morning of the StarryNight Festival. Mary had invited Ann round to her house so they could discuss what Mary would wear when Gray came round for tea later. Somehow the conversation had turned to Ann. Again. 

"No I'm not." Mary replied simply. "It's the perfect solution." Ann shook her head in absolute disbief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"How, exactly, is it perfect?" she asked, leaning foward off the end of her best friend's bed. This had better be good.

"Well, you're lonely, Cliff's lonely and your dad wants to see you bring a guy home for StarryNight." Mary explained.

"Mary, I'm sorry, but I'm not inviting Cliff to my house for tea tonight. I don't like him, I don't really know him and he saw me make a fool of myself." Ann answered stubbornly. "It's not gonna happen!"

* * *

Why do I let Mary talk me into doing such stupid things, Ann thought, I must be mad. She shifted from one foot to the other continously as she stood outside Cliff and Gray's room that night. Somehow she just couldn't gather up the courage to go in and ask him. Just do it, she told herself. 

The door in front of her opened with a sudden creak. Ann froze. Gray stepped out into the corridor and his eyes widened when he spotted her hovering nearby. He was dressed in a tidy blue shirt with a pair of black jeans to go with it. Ann had never seen him dressed in such clean clothes before. He looked very different with his cap removed and his red hair combed neatly foward. Noticing Ann looking he self conciously smoothed his hair down even more.

"You look nice!" Ann reassured him. "Mary will be pleased." she added with a smile.

Gray smiled nervously back at her. "Thanks." he mumbled. Holding open the door, he added, "Did you want to go in?" Ann found herself nodding, then instantly regretted it. Now she had no choice over what to do.

Her nerves were all over the place as she gingerly stepped into the room before her. The door slammed shut making her jump as it had done a few days ago. Cliff was stood at the opposite end of the room just staring out of the window, he didn't appear to have heard her come in.

"Hi." Ann whispered. He didn't answer. "Hi Cliff!" she said louder. He finally turned around.

"Ann...it's you. Hi." A smile crept slowly onto his face. "What do you want?"

Ann lost it just like the last time. She opened her mouth, nothing happened. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous around him, but it was getting on her nerves. "Sorry. What I meant was, how would you feel about joining my dad and I for tea tonight...as friends of course." she blurted out. "We've always got too much food and, well, it'd be nice to have some company my own age!"

Cliff didn't answer Ann for a very long time. He watched her, as though making sure she was serious or something like that. Ann just couldn't tell.

"Ok." he told her at last. "I'll come to tea with you Ann Lawson. As friends of course!" he added, grinning the happiest grin Ann had ever seen on his face.


	6. Unknown Territory

_**Disclaimer-** I don't own Harvest Moon_

_**Author's note-** Again, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. Keep it up!_

Chapter 6- Unknown territory

The trees of Mineral Town were fluffy with pink blossom, harsh snow storms had been replaced by sudden bursts of rain and love was in the air. Spring had finally melted winter's icy grasp.

In a weeks time Elli would be married to Dr Tim, and the flurry of marriage talk had sent the women of Mineral Town into a frenzy. Meanwhile, the men ducked for cover. Gossip had turned to who would be next to walk down the aisle. All eyes were on the current young couples in town. Kai and Popuri. Gray and Mary. Jack and Karen. Cliff and Ann.

Ann wasn't exactly sure where along the line her and Cliff had become an item. It had just felt right. They had both discovered how well they got along when Cliff joined Ann at the StarryNight Festival. Soon enough they were good friends and Ann thought nothing more of it. It was whilst watching the first sunrise of the new year on Mothers's Hill that it all changed...

* * *

The weather was bitterly cold at the peak of Mother's Hill on New Years Eve. Ann shuffled slightly closer to her friend, Cliff, for warmth. The sky was, at last, beginning to lighten.

"It won't be long before sunrise now." Cliff whispered. "You won't regret coming up here, honest!" Ann nodded. She didn't doubt that Cliff was right. He a was reliable and trustworthy sort of guy. And a true friend to Ann. A small crowd of other villagers jostled around Ann and Cliff all waiting patiently for the sun to rise so they could finally go home.

"I can't believe I've never come up here on New Years Eve before." she told Cliff. "I usually just go to the New Year party in Rose Square. This is much more exciting!" Cliff grinned back at her. Ann looked up at him in amazement, in all the years she had known Cliff she had never seen him this happy. She opened her mouth to tell him as much when Cliff unexpectedly leant foward.

It could have been five seconds or five years. Ann neither knew nor cared. The world around her and Cliff whirled by unimportantly as they stood joined, at what felt like the top of the world. All that mattered at that moment was that they were together. Finally, they began to slowly break apart.

"Wow." Ann laughed nervously. She looked up into Cliff's dark eyes, unsure exactly what she should be thinking at this moment. Was she happy about what had just happened?

Of course I am, she thought, why wouldn't I be?

Er...Jack, obviously, another voice said.

I'm over him, she argued with herself.

Yeah right, that irritating other voice said, you wish!

He's history that's all there is to it, Ann thought. She slipped her arms around Cliff's waist and kissed him more passionately than she had ever kissed any other person in her life. He kissed her back and by the time they broke apart the sun was risen and people were slowly trailing back down the mountainside.

"We waited all this time and we missed it." Ann sighed.

Cliff looked up at reddish-yellow sky spread out before them. "It still looks really beautiful, though." He put his hands around Ann's face and gently tilted her head upwards. "Just like you. Happy New Year, Ann."

Eventually, after several wonderful minutes stood together at the peak of Mother's Hill, they wandered back to the Inn. It was only when they were stood outside the front door that Ann realised her hand was in Cliff's...

--------------------------------

"So, are you coming or what?" Cliff's question jolted Ann back to the present with a bump. The two of them were sat together on Cliff's bed in the Inn whilst soft music drifted out of a radio in the corner. Lifting her head slightly off Cliff's hunched up knees, Ann frowned.

"Coming where?" she asked, feeling that she already knew the answer.

"You were day-dreaming again!" Cliff sighed, rolling his eyes jokingly. "Oww!" he wailed suddenly, as Ann thumped him a little harder than she meant to.

"Sorry." She rubbed his kneecaps as though he was small child. "Where do you want me to go then?"

"To the Church with me. This afternoon. Just for a bit. Ok?" So I was was right, Ann thought. She couldn't pretend that the Church was her favourite place. Far from it in fact. She liked Carter, the vicar, but she would much rather be having fun outside in the fresh air than sitting in the cold, dusty Church.

Trying hard not to look too disappointed Ann answered, "Well...I suppose we could go to the Church for a little while. If that's what you'd like?"

Cliff smiled as he put his arms around Ann's shoulders. "I can see you're not too enthusiastic about the idea, are you?" he said.

"No, I am-"

"It's ok, I understand." he told her.

"You do?"

"Of course. You'd rather be with all your girlie friends helping with the wedding plans! How long until the big day?"

"Five days." Ann muttered in reply. To be honest frilly wedding dresses were hardly her scene either, but it seemed to be her only way out of going with Cliff. ""I'm really sorry, but I _was_ hoping to meet up with the girls before the wedding."

Cliff grinned widely to reassure her and then tenderly kissed her foreheard. "That's fine. I'll see you later then, ok?"

* * *

Ann trailed along the streets of Mineral Town, feeling truly miserable. Early spring sunshine bounced off the many deep puddles that were scattered across the pavement in front of her. She knew that Cliif wouldn't know whether or not she actually went to help out with the wedding plans, but she felt bad enough about leaving him in any case. Yesterday, Mary had told her that her mom was dragging her off to Poultry Farm to help with the dress fitting, so Ann figured thats where they'd be. She sighed, skirting around a deep puddle that blocked her way. Usually, she'd just wade through it, but not today.

Maybe it's about time I showed a bit of an interest in weddings, she thought, especially now I have a proper boyfriend.

Ann was still undecided on the matter when she eventually turned into Poultry Farm. There was no point trying to think about it anymore, anyway. Who could possibly concentrate when a dozen chickens are squawking at you from their pen? The farmhouse itself was tucked neatly away in a corner of farmyard. Ann approached slightly warily. She could hear excited, high-pitched squealing coming from inside. Right, she thought, inhaling deeply, I'm going into unkown and possibly dangerous territory. Ann gingerly knocked the door, dreading every moment of what she was about to endure.

"Hellooo!" came Popuri's cheery greeting as the door was swung open. "Oh hey, Ann!" the excitable girl giggled. "What is it?"

"Hi." Ann replied, feeling out of place. There seemed to be a flurry of movement and laughter going on in the background. "Um, I was just wondering if you lot needed any help with the wedding plans." she blurted out finally.

Popuri's eyes widened in surprise for a second, but she seemed to recover almost instantly. "Sure. The more the merrier. Come on in." Ann followed the pink-haired girl into the crowded farmhouse. Elli was stood on a chair in the middle of the room whilst Lillia, Rick and Popuri's mother, and Mary's mother, Anna, were adjusting the dress beautiful dress she was wearing.

"Ann's come to help." Popuri informed her mother. Lillia turned and smiled widely at Ann. Ann grinned back at her, ignoring Anna who raised her eyebrows sceptically.

"Hello, honey!" Lillia said to Ann. "Mary and Karen are sat at the dining room table. Why don't you go and help them?"

So Karen's here as well, Ann thought miserably. She had never really got on Karen at all, not even when they were little girls. Karen had always scoffed when Ann played in the mud or tried to help an injured bird. She was more interested in trying on her mother's make-up and high heels. Ann didn't think Karen was deliberately unkind, just that the two girls were too different to be close friends.

Karen and Mary were sat next to each other at the large wooden table pouring over a box of different coloured ribbons and bows. Ann coughed to announce her arrival and Mary looked up.

"Ann!" she squeaked happily. "Sit down, you can help out!" Ann slipped into the seat opposite her best friend.

"Well." Karen spoke up. "We were thinking about this bow around Elli's waist. What do you think?" She held up a shockingly bright pink bow. Ann hated it, but didn't tell Karen _that_ tactlessly.

"I think it's much to bright for Elli." she answered truthfully, shaking her head. Grabbing the box Ann began searching for something more suitable. "There! It's perfect." she pulled out a silky, pale blue bow out of the box.

"It's great." Mary agreed. "It'll look wonderful on Elli. You have really good taste, Ann!" Karen was absolutely seething, but everyone else thought Ann's idea was perfect, most importantly Elli.

"Thanks so much Ann." Elli said embracing her warmly. "You were the best!" Suprisingly, Ann couldn't deny that she'd actually had a fabulous day.

* * *

It may have been all the wedding talk, but when Ann got back to the Inn later that evening she had never been so pleased to see Cliff. He was her boyfriend and somehow she had realised just how lucky she was to have him. As they hugged Ann felt so happy she could burst.

"I love you Ann."

_Wow_, she thought, did he really say that? He must have done! I should really say it back, quickly, before he thinks I'm hesitant. She opened her mouth. Nothing came out. Say it, she thought, it's not that hard!

"Sorry Cliff, I'm really tired." was all Ann could manage. What's wrong with me, she thought desperately, I've messed things up. Again.


	7. A Day For Love

_**Disclaimer**- I don't own Harvest Moon._

_Sarah303- Thanks for the review. I don't think Cliff would take it too personally, it's more like Ann being insecure. Thanks again!_

_NightimeRoseOX- Yeah, poor Cliff. You'll see in the next chapter if things get any better for him! Thanks for reviewing!_

_Kairi Tsubasa- Glad you liked that chapter. I hope you like the next one! Thanks!_

_StarrNight- Thanks for the review. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope you like this next chapter. Thanks for the positive feedback!_

_Ekoaleko- There'll be more of Jack in this chapter than in the last few, so you'll have to see what happens! I hope you enjoy the next chapter and thanks for reviewing!_

Chapter 7- A day for love

"Argghhh!" Ann slammed her wardrobe closed in fit of despair. It was finally the morning of Elli and Tim's wedding and Ann had just discovered she had nothing suitable to wear. She had spent the last hour selecting and then rejecting most of her wardrobe. It was hopeless. She had a few pairs of jeans in a reasonable condition, in other words not covered in mud or badly torn, but they were much too casual for a wedding. The only dress she had was an awful frilly thing that her father bought her for her thirteenth birthday. She wore it only once, then promptly condemned it to a life at the very back of her wardrobe. There was not a chance of it fitting her now, eight years later. And it was pink. The only colour Ann really detested.

There was suddenly a tentative knock at her bedroom door. "Ann? You ok in there?" It was her father. "Is it ok if I come in?"

"Sure." Ann mumbled in reply. She threw herself down at the little table in her room as the door snapped open and her father walked in. He leant over to study his daughter's face which was currently thunderous.

"C'mon, Ann. Cliff's waiting for you outside. Even he's got dressed up specially!" he told her.

"Really? What's he wearing?" asked Ann, suddenly interested.

"You'll have to wait and see." Ann's face fell.

"But I have nothing to wear!" she wailed. "I can't go!"

"What you mean is that you haven't been looking properly." he said simply. Ann watched as her father pulled open her wardrobe and searched through the rails. "What about this? It had fallen off the hanger. It's a litte dusty, but I'm sure you can wipe it off." In his hands he held up a powder blue blouse. It was a simular colour to Ann's usual clothes, just slightly paler. She couldn't deny that she liked it.

"It _is_ pretty," Ann admitted. "But where on earth did it come from? I don't remember buying it!"

"I bought it for your eighteenth birthday. You were never really into clothes, Ann. You must have forgotten about it..."

"I'm sorry, dad!" Ann said, and she meant it. "I can't believe I've never worn it, it's beautiful! Well, I'll wear it now, but with what?"

* * *

Less than fifteen minutes later Ann stood before the mirror in her bedroom. She knew if she didn't hurry up she and Cliff would be late for the wedding, the first wedding Mineral Town had seen in many years. She didn't want to be late, she was just nervous about her outfit. Ann's ginger hair was no longer pulled back in a tight plait, it was in a loose ponytail and pulled forward so it rested across her right shoulder. She was wearing the blouse with another item of clothing that she had forgotten she owned. It was a mid-length black skirt that Mary had bought her the stocking festival before last. Like the blouse she discarded it immediately because she hated it when people bought her clothes, but she now realised that it was a good choice by Mary. The skirt was tight around her hips then flicked out a little bit at the bottom, it looked perfect with her top. Shoes hadn't been much of a problem at all. She always had one good pair of shoes at home just in case and had managed to find a shiny black pair with a small heel that complimented her outfit nicely. One last glance at the mirror and she was ready.

Cliff and her father were stood outside in the bar area of the Inn when Ann emerged at last. It was almost unrecognisable. A huge banner that read, 'Congratulations Elli and Tim' covered most of the wall above the front door. There were balloons of many different shades in all corners of the room and bows attatched to all the tables.

Cliff's eyes were firmly on Ann. She bit her lip as she wondered what he thought of her appearance. Cliff himself had thrown an old black jacket over his usual outfit and a stormy grey tie was hung carelessly around his neck.

"I don't have a lot of formal clothes." he confessed. "You can probably see that for yourself though!"

Ann grinned. "You look amazing!" she breathed, truthfully. Only Cliff could pull off an outfit like that and still manage to look great.

He shrugged his shoulders and came to stand in front of Ann. "What can I say? I mean, you look...just wow!" Cliff ran his fingers through her long glossy hair. He carefully slipped his hand Ann's. "We'd better go." he told her.

Ann felt as though she would burst with happiness. What have I ever done to deserve someone as wonderful and caring as Cliff, she wondered. He was so understanding. If anything, Ann feeling unready to say she loved Cliff had strengthened their relationship. Cliff had told her that he understood and that this wouldn't stop him wanting to be with her, his feelings were as strong as ever. To Ann's great relief, he didn't sulk, strop, shout, moan or anything like that, and that meant so much to her. She knew now that her feelings for him were strong, stronger than she ever could have imagined. Was she in love? Maybe. She knew Cliff made her happy, made her smile, made her laugh, even made her cry. They weren't perfect, far from it. They argued, but to be honest Ann would have been more alarmed if they didn't. It was never over anything big anyway, just little quarrels mostly. They didn't agree on everything either, but they just accepted it. They were content, nothing else mattered.

Ann's arms had somehow wound themselves round Cliff and her lips had found his. Both of them had forgotten about her father being present. A sudden cough from somewhere behind them broke the spell. They flew apart and looked around guiltily to see Doug tapping his watch with an exasperated look on his face.

"Quick!" Ann yanked Cliff across room and out of the door as fast as possible. "Thanks, Dad!" she called over her shoulder.

"See you two back here later for the reception." he replied as Ann and Ciff whipped out of sight.

Bright Spring sunshine bounced off the couple as they hurried, hand in hand, up the road towards the Church. The weather was beautiful, but a brisk, cold wind was blowing. Ann impatiently pulled her hair out of her eyes, only for it to get in the way again seconds later. Cliff looked amused.

"I take it this hairstyle won't become a regular thing?" he asked jokingly.

"No chance! If I knew it was-" Ann was cut off mid-sentence by a loud, piercing scream that came from behind them. They wheeled around expecting to see someone being murdered. Instead, they spotted Karen, who was wearing the shortest conceivable dress Ann had ever seen, stood at the bottom of the road leading to the Church. Her back was facing them and the person she was swearing violently at had not yet come into view. Ann didn't need three guesses to work out who the unlucky person was. Seconds later her suspicions were confirmed as a harrassed looking Jack appeared. He muttered something to his seething girlfriend and predictably she exploded worse than before. Cliff's eyebrows disappeared into his scruffy hair.

"_Come on_..." he tugged Ann towards the Church without much effect.

"Wait a minute." Ann was keen to see where this was going.

"We're going to be late!" Cliff moaned, but Ann wasn't listening. Karen was storming up the path, ignoring Jack, who was calling after her. She scowled at Ann and Cliff whilst shoving past them and then pushed open the huge Church doors. They were glad to see to see her disappear inside. Jack drew level with the couple at last, looking red faced and highly embarrassed.

"Sorry...er...just-" Words seemed to fail him and all he could do was shrug awkwardly. He dashed inside.

"Oh dear!" gasped Ann. She glanced at Cliff who was shaking his head.

"Poor guy." he muttered. "Right, come on. Or there won't be any wedding left to attend!"

They managed to slip into a pew at the back of the crowded Church as the organ started up. Ann tried to forget what she had just witnessed and enjoy the wedding, she thought it would be impossible. Then she saw the look of pure joy on Elli's face and got into to the spirit of the occasion.

* * *

After a long, but very enjoyable ceremony the wedding party arrived at the Inn for the reception. The wedding itself had been a wonderful occasion and nearly all of the women were in tears of happiness by the end of it.

Music filled the bar and the tables were laden with food. Ann was impressed. "This looks great, Dad!" she told her father enthusiastically. Cliff nodded in agreement, unable to speak because his mouth was full of pizza.

"Glad you like it!" Doug replied, his eyes twinkling. "Now I believe you wanted a word, Duke..." He turned away to speak to the Winery owner.

Ann and Cliff piled their plates with food, grabbed a glass of wine each and went to sit down opposite Mary and Gray.

"Hey!" said Mary, happily. "Ann! You look gorgeous! I love your hair!"

"Thanks Mary!" Ann mumbled, blushing. "You look stunning yourself." Mary was wearing an elegant, emerald green dress. Over the top of it she was wearing a small jade cardigan. The oufit matched her pale skin and jet black hair beautifully. Her hair itself was pulled into a bun at the back with flowers braided through it, and strands of hair were left around her face. She looked a million miles away from the quiet, shy libarian Ann was used to.

Mary's eyes were on the bride and groom. "Elli looks on top of the world, doesn't she?" she breathed. All of a sudden Gray reached out and clutched her hand tight. They seemed to drift off into a world of their own before Ann's eyes. She and Cliff grinned knowingly at each other. It looked as though Mineral Town's next set of newly-weds had been decided.

Ann was having a great time. So much so that she had even agreed to dance with Cliff a little later on. They were both awful, but that didn't matter as no one was taking anything seriously. Eventually though Ann insisted that she would have sit down as her feet were badly bruised from where Cliff kept trampling them. It had been the final straw when Mary's mother Anna, who was doing an exuberant two-step with her husband, had speared Ann's foot with a stiletto heeled shoe.

For the first time since the party had started Ann was sat alone. Mary had been dragged away by a sobbing Popuri who was mumbling things like, 'alone' and 'Kai' and 'missing' and 'unfair'. Ann herself thought the unfair thing was that Mary couldn't enjoy the party and that was making her alone, but said nothing because she didn't want to get involved. Cliff was stood on the other side of the dance floor laughing and joking with Gray. It seemed to be a 'guy thing' so she didn't join them.

"Hey." Ann's head snapped up. Jack was stood above her smiling nervously, holding a plate piled high with food.

"Can I sit here?" he asked, sounding unsure of what Ann's answer would be.

She nodded slowly, trying to make the situation less awkward than it already was. Ann searched around for something to say and eventually decided that humour was the best option in this situation. "Greedy." she said nodding her head at Jack's very full plate of food. A sly grin crept onto Ann's face. Jack watched her carefully for a moment then burst out laughing. It was as if the invisible barrier between the two of them had fallen and they could relax and be themselves again.

They talked for a while, mainly about Jack's farm and the Inn, though they steered clear of mentioning their relationships. Ann began to realise how much she missed Jack. He had been one of her best friends for so long.

"How's Buttons?" Ann asked, thinking of Jack's excitable, little dog. She missed his cute little face and soft dangly ears.

"He's fine." Jack told her, "He's mad as ever, still chasing me all over the place, getting into trouble."

Ann grinned and accepted half the cookie Jack offered her. It felt good to have her friend back.

The two of them were silent for a while until Jack spoke up in a voice much more subdued than his usual one. "Sorry about earlier." he muttered, whilst looking steadily down at the table in front of him. Ann knew he meant his argument with Karen, but was at a loss as of what to say.

"Um..." Ann thought that her reply was pretty pathetic, but Jack plowed on.

"It's not that I don't like Karen, not at all, it's just that sometimes she can be a bit...a bit much." Jack cast a look at the bar where his girlfriend was sat. For a moment he looked slightly worried. "The argument earlier, it was about her dress of all things. She asked me what I thought and I guess I hesitated a moment to long."

Ann shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Sure, she wanted to be Jack's friend again, but she certainly did not want to talk about him and Karen. There was nothing she could do to help him and she wondered whether he was taking his relationship seriously. Not that it mattered to her, really, but still...

"Ann? Are you listening?" Jack's disappointed face broke through her frantic thoughts. A wave of guilt at letting her friend down rushed through Ann, but she brushed it off quickly. Jack looked even more unhappy when Ann stood up.

"I've really got to go and see Mary now." she told him. He smiled sadly back at her.

"Ok, but maybe you can come round to my place tomorrow? I'm not very busy!" Jack suggested.

Ann nodded hastily and hurried off to find Mary, hoping that Popuri finally had stopped crying. She was lucky. Rick was leading his little sister out of the door as she spotted her friend. Mary smiled gratefully at the sight of Ann and rushed over.

"Hey! Oh, poor Popuri, eh? She misses Kai so much. You know the two of them- " she stopped suddenly, noticing the look of despair on Ann's face. "What?"

"Come here." Ann grabbed her friend's arm and hauled her over to a table in the corner.

"What?" Mary asked again once the two were seated.

Ann launched into the story of Jack inviting her to his farm tomorrow. " -And so I think that maybe him and Karen aren't working out and _he_ thinks that it's the same for Cliff and I. Which it isn't, by the way. And so I think- and I know it's a bit crazy -I think that he likes me." she finished.

A long silence greeted these words. It was finally broken when Mary asked, "Are you sure?"

"No."

"Oh."

"So, what am I going to do?" Ann asked.

"Nothing. He's your friend, just go to his house tomorrow. Have a laugh. It'll be fine, trust me. I think your just reading into things too much." Mary replied.

She looked Ann, long and hard, in the face. "You and Cliff, you are ok aren't you?" she said at last.

"He loves me." Ann replied simply.

"And you?"

For a long while Ann stayed silent, her eyes fixed on her laughing, smiling, happy boyfriend. The boyfriend who loved her and wanted her. Cliff. She turned back to Mary with a smile, "Yes." she answered. "I love him." And to her great surprise she realised that she truly meant it.

_A/n- Sorry that this chapter took a lot longer than I first expected. I'll try to be quicker with the next one!_


	8. Many Meanings

_**Disclaimer-** I don't own Harvest Moon. _

_**Author's note-** Sorry for being so slow at updating, I've been really busy lately. And also a big thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! I'm not so sure about this chapter, but this one needed to be written. I hope you all enjoy it though and, once again, sorry for the delay in updating._

Chapter 8- Many meanings

The morning after the wedding dawned warm and bright, and it was clear to all that Summer was on it's way to Mineral Town. Ann grinned at the thought of all the long days at beach that were stretched out before her, as she made her way to Jack's farm. There was so much for her to look foward to this year. Up until recently she hadn't been aware that Cliff's birthday was on the sixth. Ann wasn't sure what she was going to buy him yet, nor did she have any clue as to what he'd get her for her birthday on the seventeenth. It didn't really matter though, at least this year she actually had a boyfriend. With a pang, Ann remembered last Summer when she had been convinced that her and Jack were meant to be. Now Ann found the memory faintly embarrassing. How stupid could I have been, she thought, wasting so much time on Jack when all he wanted was to be friends? And now she was fulfilling her promise to him as a friend by visiting him at his farm this morning.

Ann had been put in such a good mood by the summery weather that she even gave Popuri a cheery wave as she passed Poultry Farm. The pretty pink haired girl, still pale faced after her tears last night, also seemed a lot happier. Probably counting the days until she's reunited with her darling Kai, Ann thought, while Popuri grinned back at her as she fed the chickens.

Eventually, she made her way down the narrow path into Silver-Ridge Farm. She instantly spotted Jack's horse, Nutmeg, grazing in lush green field and couldn't resist going over. "Hey, boy!" Ann called, gently. The hansome stallion tossed his shiny mane in her direction and trotted towards the fence, his chesnut coat gleaming. "Good boy." Ann whispered as the horse nudged her outstretched hand affectionately. As she rubbed the pure white blaze that stretched across Nutmeg's face, the sound of frenzied yapping suddenly broke through the morning air, and the horse snorted with alarm.

"Calm down silly! It's just Buttons." she soothed, but Nutmeg was already cantering away. She shook her head and then turned to scoop up the wriggling bundle of fur that had been trying to chew her feet. Ann buried her face into Buttons' soft, brown fur and he gave a happy bark . When she pulled away again she noticed a pair of warm brown eyes watching her.

"Morning Jack!" Ann said brightly as her friend smiled back at her. "Buttons seems pleased to see me." she added, placing the excitable dog back on the ground. He instantly leapt up at his owner.

"Yeah, I wondered where he'd ran off to." Jack told her, whilst fighting off his dog. "Hey, I've got something to show you, Ann! You won't be disappointed, honest." Ann gave him a curious look, but Jack wasn't revealing anything. "Come on!" He took her by the arm.

"I suppose you'll want to blindfold me, then?" she asked jokingly.

A somewhat evil grin appeared on Jack's face. "I wasn't planning to, but great idea." he laughed.

Ann began to mutter something about 'not nesesscary' and 'only joking' but Jack had already whipped off Buttons' little red bandana and was tying it around her head. "Does it really have to be this tight?" Ann asked, as she was plunged into darkness.

"It's not that bad." came Jack's reply, but Ann felt him loosen the blindfold slightly. "There! Now to spin you around so you can't tell where we're going." Ann giggled.

"You're so childish." she told him. Then, she felt Jack's gloved hands grasp her shoulder's firmly.

"Am I?" Jack asked, beginning to spin her. "_Am I_?" he repeated. He began to whirl her faster and faster when she didn't reply.

"No! No, you're not!" Ann lied, to make him stop. "Get off, will you?" Jack let go of her very suddenly and she overbalanced. "AAAHHH!" Ann's foot hit a rock and she fell backwards landing with a thump on the hard earth. A dull ache spread through her legs, but she'd felt far worse pain before now.

"Sorry." she heard Jack mumble, from somewhere above her. "Just got a bit carried away, y'know?" He gripped Ann's arm tightly and hauled her to her feet. "You ok?"

"Yeah." Ann replied as she massaged the backs of her legs. And she was. If there was one thing she was known for it was being tough.

Unconvinced, Jack lifted up the blindfold and peered nervously underneath it. Ann found herself laughing at the worried expression on his face. She wrenched the bandana off completely and handed it to him. "I think that's caused enough trouble for now, don't you?" she said.

With a relieved smile, Jack nodded and looked around for Buttons. They spotted him chasing Jack's terrified chickens across the farmyard. Buttons suddenly pounced on one of them and recieved a thorough face pecking. "That dog..." Jack sighed. They watched Buttons wander away with his tail between his legs, occasionally spitting out flurries of white feathers. Jack pocketed the bandana then turned back to Ann. "Are you sure you're ok?"

_"Yes!"_ she insisted. "Now are you going to show me this surprise- whatever it is -or not?"

"Right. Ok, follow me then." Jack turned and led Ann across the sunlit grounds towards the large stone building she knew to be the barn. Wondering what was going on, she stepped inside.

The barn was large and the strong, very distinct smell of animals was present. Ann found that it didn't bother her much.

"You've expanded it since I was here last." she noted, looking around. "All the animals are outside, I suppose?"

Jack smiled at her suddenly. It was a knowing smile. "Not quite." he said.

Ann gave a sudden squeal of delight when she saw what he was looking at. "Oh wow, Jack!"

Tucked away in a secluded corner a sheep was lying on a heap of straw. Next to her lay two tiny lambs that had to be newborn. Ann crouched down to get a closer look. Jack was grinning proudly. "Bessie had twins yesterday. Two little girls." he told her.

Ann reached out and gently patted Bessie's head. "Aren't you a good, girl?" she cooed. She looked up at Jack. "What are they called?"

"I haven't thought about it really." he answered with a shrug. "You can name them if you want."

One of the lambs began to stir. Ann watched in awe as it stretched it's tiny body and looked around, bewildered at the attention it was recieving. "What about Candy and Floss? That's what they remind me of." she told him.

Jack nodded approvingly. "Good idea." he said. For a long while the two of them watched the newly named Candy and Floss as they lay beside their mother. Ann loved animals and the whole idea of farm life, so she completely understood Jack's passion for his work. She guessed that it was times like this that made him glad that he had chosen such a rewarding career.

When her legs began to grow numb from crouching down for too long, Ann stood up. "So are you going to invite me back to the farmhouse now or not?" she asked. "I really think you should seeing as you pushed me over earlier."

Jack frowned at her. "I didn't push you!" he said, but Ann was laughing.

She reached over and, pulling his cap back, ruffled his dark brown hair. "You're so easy to wind up." Blood rushed to Jack's cheeks at this comment and his pale face flushed red for a moment. In a brief second of madness Ann mentally noted how cute he looked when that happened.

_What!?,_ she thought wildly, _what on earth made me think that?_

The moment passed in an instant, but Ann still felt uneasy. Before Cliff she had never had what you would call a 'proper' boyfriend and it was taking some getting used to. It was all new to her, but what she did know was that Cliff made her happy. Jack was more of a friend. A friend who happened to be quite good-looking. And that was all there was to it as far as she was concerned.

Unconvinced by her own reasoning, Ann decided to talk to Mary later.

* * *

Despite her odd feelings in the barn, Ann could not deny that she hadn't had fun at the farmhouse. It had been eventful to say the least. When they got inside, the first thing she noticed was the awful state of his kitchen. 

"What have you been doing in here, Jack?" she asked, as she stepped neatly over a whisk that was lying on the floor.

With a look that suggested she was being stupid, he replied, "Cooking."

"Cooking what?" It was very hard to tell as a lot of flour seemed to have covered most of the ingredients.

"A cake, obviously." Jack told her.

"Oh, and what exactly does this fish have to do with things?" Ann said, plucking it out from amongst the eggs and butter. She turned to Jack with an eyebrow rasied. "Since when do _you_ cook, anyway?"

"Well, Karen's been teaching me a bit and as for the fish, I thought it'd add an interesting flavour." Jack answered. For a minute Ann thought he was having a laugh, but one look at his face hold her she was wrong.

"Karen's been helping you?" she repeated, shocked. That was a recipe for disaster in itself, never mind the fish. To put it mildy- _very_ mildly -Karen was not all that good a cook. In fact, during the last Cooking Festival Ann had felt sure she had poisoned the judge.

Jack's features were suddenly lit with a smile. "Ok, so I know she's not a great cook, but neither am I, really." He shrugged. "I'm hopeless, aren't I?"

"Nah." Ann told him "But you are totally mad. And I mean that sincerely. I've never met anyone quite like you!"

"I could say the same for you, y'know." Jack laughed in reply. "You're just...different." At this, silence fell between the two of them. Ann found this particularly strange as usually her and Jack could never stop talking, but she drew a total blank as of what to say.

Finally, Jack glanced at his watch, "Look, I've got to get working sorry." he announced. "I'll see you soon, Ann."

"Ok." And with that, she left.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Ann managed to catch Mary as she was closing the library for the day. When Ann asked her friend for a chat, as she was locking the door, Mary replied, "Yes, but I'm meeting Gray later so I can't be too long." She turned to Ann and gave her a scrutinising look. "This is about Jack or Cliff or both right?" 

"Um, yeah, actually." Ann answered, with a sheepish grin. "Can we go to your's, then?"

Within a few minutes at Mary's house Ann had explained everything that had gone on earlier that day. She was now eagerly awaiting Mary's verdict as they sat sipping tea in the deserted kitchen (Anna had gone to visit a friend and Basil was upstairs). At long last Mary spoke up. "So let me get this straight." she muttered, taking another gulp of tea before continuing, "You love Cliff, you think you might fancy Jack and basically you're a bit confused."

"Er...I guess so." Ann was uncertain as to where this was going, but Mary ploughed on regardless.

"Well, the word love has many meanings, right?"

"Eh?" Ann really had no idea what her friend was going on about.

Mary sighed and sipped her tea for a moment, before speaking. "What I mean is, I love my mom, my dad, my friends and all, but I'm not _in_ love with them. So you love Jack and Cliff, right, but which are you _in_ love with? If any." she added with a faint smile.

"Cliff of course!" Ann replied, more hotly than she intended.

"Do you want to be with Jack or do you just think he's good looking? If you would rather be with him then it's unfair on Cliff." Mary told her matter of factly.

Ann thought very hard about this for a moment. "Jack is good looking," she began slowly, "but I don't think I want to be with him. Cliff cares about me and loves me. Jack's just a good friend." she smiled weakly at Mary. "And he has a girlfriend who wouldn't think twice about killing me if I came between them!"

Both Mary and Ann collasped with laughter. "As long as you're sure about this." Mary said after a long while. "Because if you're lying to yourself about your feelings, things are going to go wrong."

Ann took a deep breath. "It's ok, I know what I'm doing." she grinned widely. "_Now._ You and Gray."


	9. Summer Storms

_**Disclaimer-** I don't own Harvest Moon._

_**Author's note-** I like this chapter a lot more than the last one so I hope everyone enjoys it. Also, I hope if you do read you leave a review because I get less and less with every chapter at the minute. I think it may be because alerts aren't working at the moment, but anyway I hope you like this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks and please review!_

Chapter 9- Summer storms

At long last it was Beach Day. Ann was thrilled because this meant Summer had finally arrived. As predicted, temperatures soared just in time for the festival and so Mineral Beach was completely packed that morning.

Ann, Cliff and Gray left the Inn together early in the morning so they had time to call for Mary on the way to the beach.

"Hi everyone!" she cried cheerily, after answering the door. At the sight of Gray, Mary blushed magenta, but smiled happily all the same. Ann watched as Gray grinned back at his girlfriend and slipped his hand in hers.

"Whoa! The whole town must be here," said Cliff. The group made their way on to the crowded white sands after an uneventful journey through sun drenched Mineral Town. Ann nodded.

"Yeah, it's one of the best festivals of the year, though," she replied. Suddenly, she spotted Kai and Popuri sat on the bench outside Kai's restaurant. Ann quickly elbowed Mary in the ribs. "Look at Popuri acting all cool and distant with Kai, when not so long ago she was falling apart without him!"

Mary glanced over and her mouth twitched into a smile, "Yes. It's working though, isn't it? Her..._tactics_, I mean."

Ann supposed she was right. Kai didn't seem the type to be interested in over-eager girls. And the more distant Popuri was the nearer he shifted towards her.

Soon, the annual frisbee contest was under way. Jack and Buttons were competing, so Ann supported them enthusiastically. Standing in the crowd, she cheered madly as the little dog raced along the shore, eventually catching the disc in his mouth. Buttons was by far the cutest dog in the competition so everyone on the beach was pleased to see him win. Ann wanted to go straight over and congratulate Jack, but Karen was there and that made the idea seem much less appealing. Another thing Ann couldn't help, but notice, was how strained their relationship seemed. Then again, perhaps it was just her imagination.

Ann was quickly distracted from these thoughts, however, when Kai came over to chat with her and Cliff. Unfortunately, their conversation with the tanned, bandana wearing boy went almost instantly downhill. "Oh, cool! So you two are going out, then? I was so sure you and Jack were going to get together, Ann," Kai told them.

He burbled on in the same vain for ages, but Ann wasn't properly listening. She had felt Cliff tense next to her and knew this wasn't a very good sign. She hated it when Cliff was in a bad mood. He could be really fun most of the time, but could suddenly become pretty depressed for no apparent reason. Admittedly, he had become a great deal more cheery since dating Ann, though was still unpredictable at times.

"He talks rubbish sometimes," Ann muttered, as soon as Kai was gone.

"Mmm. He does tend to go on a bit, doesn't he?" Cliff answered. Ann was pleased to hear a lack of bitterness in his voice, and even more delighted to see a jokey grin playing around his mouth.

She nodded quite happily, but decided to put off congratulating Jack even so.

The rest of the day went incident free and ended with Ann, Cliff, Gray, Mary, Popuri and Kai messing around in the sea as the reddish sun slowly disappeared over the horizon. By this point, the beach was empty as most people had already left for home.

A small part of Ann wished Jack was there too, but he had had to rush back to the farm earlier.

When at last it started to get cold and everyone's teeth had started to chatter the group admitted defeat and began to head to head home.

It was, Ann thought, the perfect end to a perfect summer's day.

* * *

Typically- or so she thought -Ann's contentment was very shortlived. As soon as she arrived back at the Inn with Cliff and Gray, they were greeted by her grim looking father. 

"Bad news I'm afraid," he told them solemnly. "It just came over the radio. We've got a Summer storm heading our way. We'll probably be trapped inside for at least a day. Three days max, I'd say."

There were mixed reactions to this news. Ann was horrified at the thought of being cooped up for so long, especially with no real sane company. "Three days?" she repeated numbly.

Cliff on the other hand looked excited and even thrilled at the prospect. "Oh wow, I love storms!" he announced.

Ann shook her head in disbelief. "Yes, how fantastic!" she said, sarcastically. "Howling winds, torrential rain and being bored out of your skull. I can hardly wait!"

Cliff and Gray laughed. Ann, however, didn't see the funny side. This wasn't how she imagined her Summer turning out. Even worse, she hadn't got Cliff anything for his birthday yet and if they were trapped for three days she wouldn't have much chance to get something. She'd just have to hope that, for once, the weather forcasters had got it wrong.

* * *

The next morning it was instantly apparent to Ann that her wish had not come true. She could barely hear above the relentless howling of the wind as she got out of bed. Rain was thrashing against the windows and Ann knew there was no chance she would be able to go outside today. 

Stifling a huge yawn, she sleepily made her way into the kitchen where her father was making a large stack of toast.

"Morning," she mumbled.

"Hello Annie," Ann rolled her eyes at the nickname, but said nothing. "Go and fetch Cliff and Gray will you, love?" he continued, "They may as well have breakfast in here today."

As soon as she was dressed, Ann made her way upstairs and knocked on the boy's door.

"Who is it?" came Gray's voice.

"Guess."

The door clicked open and Gray's face appeared. His red hair was tousled and it looked as though he'd just got up. "Hey Ann," he said with a smile.

"Hey," she answered. "Awful weather, eh? Anyway, Dad said breakfast'll be ready in a minute so you'd better come down."

Gray nodded then attempted to stifle a massive yawn.

Ann grinned. "Where's Cliff, then?" she wondered aloud, peering over Gray's shoulder.

"Oh. He's still asleep I think."

Before Gray could say or do anything Ann pushed past him with a we'll-see-about-this look on her face.

She reached across and seized a pillow from Gray's bed. He made a half-hearted movement towards Ann, failing to stop her as she threw the pillow hard at a sleeping Cliff.

"Whaaa-?" Cliff yelped, looking wildly around.

Ann burst into uncontrollable laughter, while Gray tried in vain to keep his sniggers to a minimum.

"Sorry Cliff. Couldn't resist," Ann apologized, as her boyfriend continued to frown. "Breakfast is waiting downstairs, so hurry up."

Cliff was half-way through nodding when he seemed to notice Ann properly for the first time. His eyes widened in shock and he gave a strangled yell.

"Ann! I'm in bed!"

"And the winner of the State the Obvious Competition is-"

"Shut up," he muttered, grumpily. "What I meant was, go away!" he turned to Gray. "And you. I want to get changed."

Ann raised her eyebrows at Gray, "Charming, isn't he?"

* * *

After a breakfast of cold toast and luke warm tea, Ann decided to give Mary a phone call. 

She made her way into the restaurant area of the Inn, turning on lights as she did so because it was unusally dark.

"Hello?" Mary's mother's voice came through the reciever, using her posh telephone voice.

"Yeah, can I speak to Mary please? It's Ann, by the way."

"One moment-" she replied, abandoning the lofty air in an instant.

Ann waited, all the while wondering what was taking so long. The Parker's house wasn't exactly huge.

"Ann? Are you there?" It was Mary.

"Oh hi. What kept you?" she asked.

"It was my mom. She came into my room with the phone and then she started complaining at the state of it."

"A mess was it?"

"Well, I'd been writing so there was paper everywhere."

"Oh cool! Read me a bit, then," Ann begged. Mary argued for quite a while before she reluctantly agreed to read a tiny part of her book.

"It's really rubbish though," she warned. After only a few lines, Ann knew that it wasn't. She was just about to say so when-

CRASH.

Ann lept up. "What was that?" she asked stupidly.

"Thunder, I-I think. It was-" The line suddenly went dead.

"Mary-?"

A second later Ann was plunged into darkness. Great, she thought, no light, no chance of a sensible conversation, no-

"Oh what is it, Cliff?" she asked irritably.

He had come looming up behind her as she was putting back the now useless phone. Turning to face him properly, Ann noticed he was carrying a candle that left his face bathed in an eerie, flickering light.

"Ghost stories later, I think," he said simply.

"What, are we five years old, now?" she scoffed.

* * *

"And then what?" Ann breathed. She leant forward so she was, literally, sat on the edge of her seat. 

Cliff, it transpired, knew some pretty amazing ghost stories. It wasn't just the stories either, it was the way he told them. He spoke in a voice so low that Ann and Gray struggled to hear him above the pounding of the wind. That, coupled with the dramatic shadows the candles cast across his face, and the fact that the rest of the room around them was pitch black, well, it made everything all the more creepy.

Ann and the boys had been sat in the front area of the Inn for a few hours now and it was, as far she knew, very late. Her father had gone to bed a long time ago, anyway. They had all told stories, but Cliff was definately the best. Ann's was particularly gruesome and she had succeeded in making both boys shudder. They were back to Cliff now, and Ann's heart was pounding painfully in her chest as he continued with his story.

She had a feeling that any minute now something was going to happen...

Cliff turned to her at that moment and grinned, relishing in the fact that he had her paranoid.

Then it happened. The room was suddenly illuminated by lightning, shortly followed by the loudest clap of thunder any of them had ever heard.

Even Cliff jumped. Gray, on the other hand, lost it completely. He screamed piercingly and fell backwards on his chair, resulting in him falling to the floor with a painful sounding thump.

"Ouch," said Ann, and both her and Cliff collasped with hysterical laughter. They were laughing so much that neither could help a cursing Gray to his feet.

"I take it back," Ann gasped, as Gray limped off to bed, "storms like this do have their moments!"

* * *

The next day, Ann found out something that made her heart leap. 

They were stuck inside for another day, so she made her way to Cliff and Gray's room to fetch them for breakfast. She hadn't deliberately eavesdropped outside their door, but one word caught her attention.

"So you've got the Blue Feather ready then?" It was Cliff's voice. Ann stopped still, just as she was about to knock. Instead, she leant forward eagerly.

"Yeah," came Gray's reply. "I'm gonna propose to Mary as soon as I can. I thought the top of Mother's Hill or the beach would be nice. Which do you think?"

"The beach. Definately. That way if she faints from the shock then you can swim and save her, but if it happens at the top of Mother's Hill, well, lets just say you've got no chance, said Cliff, in all seriousness.

Ann heard Gray laugh, "Ok then," he agreed, "the beach it is."

Meanwhile, Ann did a sort of victory jig around the corridor. _Brilliant_, she thought.


	10. True Friends

_**Disclaimer-** I own nothing, only a copy of the game._

_**Author's note-** Thanks Awesome Rapidash, Ekoaleko, NightimeRoseOX and Sarah303 for your reviews! The flashback in this chapter is in italics. Also, sorry this isn't as long as some of the previous chapters, but I hope everyone enjoys it anyway!_

Chapter 10- True friends

It was as though Summer was starting all over again. After being cooped up for two days, the occupants of Mineral Town were all eager to enjoy the fresh air and good weather just in case another storm hit. Most people headed straight to the beach, but Ann decided to stay behind.

Instead, she had gone to Jack's farm to help him clear the debris caused by the awful weather. She was actually quite glad when Cliff said he was needed at the Winery, so couldn't come. Not because she didn't want to be with him, but because she wanted to ask Jack, her best male friend, his opinion on what to get Cliff for his birthday. It was only a few days away and still Ann didn't have a clue.

"We're holding a small party at the Inn on the sixth, for Cliff, you know," she told Jack, as she threw a large branch aside. "Feel free to come if you want, but it will be a very small party. Cliff was reluctant to have one at all, but I managed to convince him."

Jack stopped to mop his brow half-way through a vigorous assault on some troublesome weeds and turned to nod his head at Ann, "Yeah, sure, I'll come," he said. "How old will Cliff be, then?"

"Twenty-one," Ann replied, tiredly. She had feeling clearing this field would be a lot easier if it wasn't so unbearably hot. She glanced up into the cloudless blue sky, sheilding her eyes from the glare of the sun as she did so. At that moment Jack let out a long, low whistle from somewhere to her right.

"The big two-one, eh?" he said, looking pretty impressed.

Ann shrugged, "It's not that much of a big deal. I'll turn twenty-one on the seventeenth myself."

"Really?" Jack looked unusally thoughtful for a moment. "Wow. And to think you were just eighteen when I moved here. I can't believe how much time has gone by, and now you're grown up. You're a woman," he sighed, then looked at Ann and smiled. "You were my very first friend in this town, back when this farm was a dump and I was just about to give up. I guess I've got a lot to thank you for."

Ann felt herself go instantly red at Jack's words and quickly turned away so he didn't see. Everything Jack said was true, though. She was one of his friends when he first arrived in Mineral Town. She had been so excited at the thought of a new farmer, but soon realised Jack was finding things tough. They helped each other out and soon became firm friends.

Ann could remember meeting Jack for the first time as clearly as if it were yesterday.

* * *

_"Hello?" Ann called out. She glanced around the old farm, but couldn't see the new owner anywhere. As she was wondering what to do, a fat little puppy came scurrying towards her._

_"Aw, aren't you sweet?" Ann beant down to stroke it's toffee-coloured long ears, "Where's your owner, then boy?"_

_"His name's Buttons,"_

_She looked up to see a boy, who couldn't be much older than her, emerge from the barn._

_"Oh. Cute," Ann replied, to what she considered to be a less than friendly welcome. The boy wandered slowly over. On closer inspection, she noticed he looked quite distracted._

_He wasn't looking at Ann, but across the sunlit farm spread out before them. "This place is in a mess," he muttered, more to himself than her._

_Personally, Ann agreed, but decided it would be tactless to say so. "I'm sure you'll be able to get it looking nice again," she said bracingly._

_At long last the boy turned to look at her. He had thick chocolate-brown hair (most of it was covered by a baseball cap so she could only see a bit) and had eyes the same colour. The most endearing thing about his appearance, or so Ann thought, was a cute spattering of freckles across his nose._

_He regarded her with interest for a moment, before asking, "So what's your name? I'm Jack, by the way. Jack Taylor."_

_"Ann Lawson," she told him, "I thought I'd drop by to see how you were getting on, welcome you to Mineral Town, that sort of thing. So, er...welcome!"_

_For the first time, Jack's face broke into a massive, happy grin. He grabbed her now outstretched hand and shook it enthusiastically, "Pleased to meet you, Ann."_

* * *

"Oh, me and Karen have broken up, by the way," Jack announced suddenly.

Ann was jerked back to the present by this startling piece of news, "What?" she yelped, and then, _"Why?"_

Jack sat down on a large, round boulder nearby and montioned for her do the same. Once she was perched there Ann asked the one thing she was dying to know. "Erm..." she began, tentatively. "Who ended it? Was it you or Karen? Or was it a mutual decision?"

For a while Jack said nothing at all and Ann began to wonder if she had been a bit insensitive. She wasn't unknown for it after all.

Then, at last, he spoke, "It was Karen," he told her.

"Karen?" Ann exclaimed, feeling shocked. If she was truthful that had not been the answer she was expecting, and to her great surprise she actually felt disappointed that it had not been the other way around.

But then, Ann reasoned, she only felt that way because Jack was a close friend. Who would want their friend to be dumped? They'd want it to be the other way around, right?

"I'm so sorry, Jack," she said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Jack just smiled.

"It's fine," he admitted. "I'm not too bothered really. It wasn't working out that well, and to be honest I didn't think it would last that long. Of course, I didn't tell Karen any of this."

"Why not?"

"I value my life," Jack replied simply, his eyes twinkling deviously.

They both collasped with laughter, even though it wasn't really that funny. "You're so mean!" Ann told him, once she had recovered enough to speak properly.

"I know. And I do like Karen; it's just that we were never really that well suited. I've got nothing against her really," he answered, with a careless shrug.

Ann nodded in agreement, though she wasn't really listening. Instead she stared directly ahead, apparently admiring the beautiful summer's morning, but not really seeing it. Mere months ago she would have been overjoyed to hear that Jack and Karen had broken up. Just a few short months in fact. Ann knew her life had changed so much in that short time and it still felt strange to her. Sometimes she wondered if it was all real.

"I think we deserve a break," Jack announced, cutting through Ann's thoughts for a second time. "Lets go to the house," he suggested, "I've got snacks."

Ann lept to her feet at once, "Say no more!" she grinned.

* * *

The sun was setting as Ann arrived back at the Inn late that evening. It'd had taken almost all day, but eventually she and Jack had cleared the field. And he'd come up with the perfect birthday present for Cliff.

Ann found herself grinning at the pure brilliance of Jack's idea as she drew up outside her front door. It was so simple really...

"Hey Ann! Ann!"

Whipping around at the sound of her name, Ann found herself blinking in utter disbelief at what she saw.

Mary- the quiet, dignified librarian no less -was hurtling along the street so fast it was a miracle she was actually able to stop. She drew level with a shocked Ann, her glasses askew and hair all over the place, and managed to pant out, "Me...and...Gray...g-getting...married. Shouldn't...have run. So...excited...though."

Laughing madly, Ann tried hard to look surprised by the news. A very difficult job considering she knew absolutely nothing about acting.

Fortunately, Mary was too breathless to notice anything, and was now doubled up with a stitch. "That's great news!" Ann said, patting her friend on the back. "You ok?"

Mary straightened up, looking ecstatic. She nodded, "Yeah, 'course I am. You'll be my bridesmaid won't you?" she asked. "Mom'll want to rope in all these cousins I've never heard of, let alone met. I'll tell her I-"

But Ann had suddenly thrown her arms around her best friend and engulfed her in a massive hug . She never completed her sentence. Ann had gotten the gist, however.

"Oh, Mary!" she whispered, feeling ridiculously sentimental.

"So you'll do it then?"

Releasing a relieved looking Mary, Ann found herself nodding, "Yeah! If that's not evidence of what a good friend I am, I don't know what is. I'm gonna wear dress for you, Mary. A _dress!_ I must be mad!"

* * *

Within a few days, news of Gray and Mary's engagement had gotten all around town. Ann suspected Anna, who couldn't keep anything quiet for more than five minutes, of gossiping. As predicted she had drawn up a long list of bridesmaids for the wedding, but as she promised Mary put her foot down, and so the job was now going to Ann alone.

"You're the best friend I've got. I don't want anyone else," Mary had explained.

Ann smiled at that, grateful for her friend's support, but couldn't help feeling nervous about the whole thing. What if she did something wrong, or accidentally ruined her dress? It was a horrible thought, and one Ann just couldn't shake off. She didn't want to make a mess of the most important day in Mary's life.

Thankfully, the wedding wasn't until the very last day of Summer, giving Ann plenty of time to prepare. And as far as she could see, she was going to need it.

* * *

_A/n- I had planned for more to happen in this chapter, but it seemed to come to a natural end at this point. Sorry for the lack of real plot development in it, I just couldn't fit it in. Next chapter will include Cliff's birthday and hopefully that should be posted soon. Thanks for reading!_


	11. Stupid Mistakes

_**Disclaimer-** As always I own nothing to do with Harvest Moon or any of it's characters._

_**Author's note-** I'm so sorry I haven't updated for so long, I just found it really hard to get into this chapter. Anyway, thanks to all my reviewers: Sarah303, Awesome Rapidash, NightimeRoseOX, StarrNight and Ekoaleko. I love reading all of your reviews and it's great to get feedback for this story, so keep it up. Well, I hope everyone enjoys reading this chapter!_

Chapter 11- Stupid mistakes

With a feeling of satisfaction, Ann stood alongside her best friend, Mary, and they admired the result of a day's hardwork. It was Cliff's birthday and the two of them had dedicated their time to preparing the Inn for the party, which would start at six o'clock that evening.

"Thanks for all your help today," Ann said to her friend once they'd finished.

Mary smiled back at her, "To be honest, it makes a nice change from the constant wedding plans with, mom."

Ann found herself laughing as she set about re-arranging the food for the fifth time. "What's she trying to get you to do now?" she asked. As far as Ann could remember, she'd never seen Mary's mother so excited. Or, for that matter, so interfering. And as anyone who knew Anna would tell you, that was really saying something.

Before answering the question, Mary prised Ann away from the food and dragged her into a seat. "The food's fine, everythings fine," she assured her. Ann looked around and felt herself beginning agree. They _had_ done quite a good job after all. Doug had allowed them to close the Inn for the day so they could prepare the food, music and decorations, and the Inn now looked similar to the way it had for Elli and Tim's wedding reception. Except, of course, the banner over the door now read: 'Happy Birthday Cliff".

With a reminiscent smile, Ann recalled the look of horror on his face when she informed him the Inn would be closed on his behalf. It was the sort you wished you had a camera for. "But...but-I thought this was going to be a _small_ party!" Cliff had whined, earlier that morning. "That's what we agreed!"

"And it will be," Ann replied, before she pushed him and Gray out the door, instructing them not to come back until half an hour before the party.

So they left, allowing Ann and Mary to get to work.

"Well, our current conflict," Mary began. "Is about the floral arrangements. Mom and I, that is." she added, when Ann, who had been caught up in the past, looked blank.

"Oh right! So what's wrong with the flowers, then?"

"Mom wants to have loads in the Church, but I just want something simple," Mary sighed, as though she thought the chances of a simple wedding were getting slimmer by the minute.

Ann, on the other hand chortled, as she imagined large unruly plants snaking along the pews, down the aisles; guests sneezing and coughing all over the place...

Then, she imagined herself tripping over and tearing her brand new dress in front of everyone. The idea didn't seem so funny after that.

"Tell your mother that on no account is she to re-create a rainforest situation inside the Church, ok?" Ann ordered, firmly.

Despite giving her friend an odd look, Mary nodded."Don't worry. This is _my_ wedding, and I'm not going to let anyone- not even my mother -ruin it."

* * *

An hour or so later, Gray and Cliff turned up at the Inn ready for the party. 

"Will you give me my present now?" Cliff begged, moments before the it was due to begin. Smiling slightly and slipping her arms around his waist, Ann shook her head.

"No, people are going to start arriving any minute now. There's no time," she told him. As intended, Cliff was distracted.

"How many people?" he demanded. "You know I don't like a fuss!"

Ann grinned. "Well you're making enough of one now!" she pointed out, jokingly.

Before Cliff could say anything in his defence, the door was thrown open and guests started to arrive. All together Ann had invited Popuri, Kai, Rick, who was bringing Karen, Jack and also Mary and Gray. She had asked Manna and Duke to come along too, as they were quite friendly with Cliff, but they'd declined, saying they thought they'd feel out of place. So, all in all she had kept to her word, as nine people, including themselves, hardly qualified for a large party.

It was quite lucky that Ann's job involved being a good host because Cliff could be unbelieveably shy at times and was getting nowhere fast with greeting the guests.

Ann soon took over.

Just as she had finished greeting Kai and Popuri, Jack turned up. He was the last person to arrive and surprisingly he wasn't alone. Buttons had come too.

"I'm sorry about this," Jack apologized, as his dog raced around Ann's legs. "He wouldn't let me leave without him. Your Dad won't mind, will he?"

After quickly ruffling Buttons' ears, Ann shook her head, "He's not here. I think he's at Duke's or something, which means I'm in charge."

"Great!" Jack beamed at her. "I'll try and keep him under control, but you know what he's like." As if to prove this point, Buttons had run off and was now leaping up at a shrieking Popuri. Sighing wearily, Jack rushed after his wayward dog. "See you later, Ann!" he called.

Ann waved after him, laughing as she did so. There was never a dull moment with Buttons around.

At that point, she caught Cliff's eye from across the room. Ann was about to smile at him, like she always did, but stopped herself at the look on his face. He was glowering at her.

_What's his problem,_ Ann thought, feeling very shocked. Cliff had already turned away, though, and she began to wonder if she'd actually imagined the look he had given her.

A little while later however it became apparent that it wasn't her imagination at all. Ann was making her way across the room to talk to Mary, when Cliff collared her.

"Why did you invite _him_?" he demanded angrily, before Ann had time to draw breath. Cliff was muttering so that they wouldn't be overheard, but his body language spoke volumes and it was clear to everyone what was going on. Kai, for one, was staring avidly at them, his mouth open slightly.

Glaring pointedly at Kai, Ann pulled Cliff into a corner. "Who?" she answered in a quiet, but deadly voice that was barely audible over the loud music.

"Jack, of course," came the impatient reply. "So why did you invite him?" At this, Ann just stared blankly at her boyfriend. It didn't make any sense to her.

"Well, he's one of my best friends...and I wanted him here..." she said slowly. There was nothing else to say really. Ann frowned at Cliff; this was so unlike him. To say she was confused was a massive understatement.

"He's not one of my friends though," Cliff pointed out. He hesitated for moment, clearly unsure as to whether or not he should continue. Eventually he went on, "And to be honest I don't really like him all that much."

Ann burst out laughing while Cliff's eyes narrowed. _So that was the problem. He was jealous!_

Initially, she felt relieved, but it was soon replaced by a wave of anger. How dare Cliff ruin things with his childish jealousy and mad suspicions? Ann just wanted to hit him. Hard.

She felt so betrayed. Cliff was clearly accusing her of...being more interested in Jack than him? That was the only explamation she could really come up with. And it hurt her more than she would have ever imagined to know Cliff didn't trust her.

Without answering him, she turned on her heel and went off to make the best of the remainder of the party.

* * *

Ann spent the rest of the evening laughing, dancing and joking with everyone else -apart from Cliff. She even chatted quite happily to Karen, who she was now actually beginning to like. 

It would have been quite a good party, but Ann's argument with Cliff had left a dark cloud hanging over her. She just couldn't seem to forget it and enjoy herself. And it was all Cliff's fault.

Ann had to admit she felt relieved when everyone had gone home, leaving just her and Cliff behind (Gray had wisely decided to got to bed early).

There was a heavy, uncomfortable slience in the air as Ann and Cliff tidied up after the party. The room was only dimly lit so Ann couldn't make out the expression on Cliff's face as she threw quick glances at him. Part of her cared about making up with him, but she was still incredibly annoyed and didn't trust herself to speak.

In the end Ann decided she had to do something.

"Cliff..."

"Ann..."

They both smiled weakly at each other, relieved to know the other also wanted to sort this out.

"Go ahead," Ann said, motioning for Cliff to continue.

He looked nervous and hung his head as he made his way over to where Ann was kneeling. She had taken up the not so delightful job of cleaning where Buttons had been sick from eating his weight in birthday cake. Ann threw down the rag she was using and turned to look up at her boyfriend.

"I'm really, really sorry Ann," he mumbled. "I didn't mean to upset you earlier. I was horrible to you and I really regret it now. It was stupid." As he finished speaking, Cliff looked up and his eyes met Ann's. He did look truly sorry.

Ann could feel her anger slowly ebbing away, and she nodded. "That's ok Cliff, I forgive you," she told him. "It's just that I felt so awful when I realised you didn't trust me. I hated it."

Cliff looked instantly horrified. "Of course I trust you!" he insisted.

"That's not what it felt like."

Suddenly, Cliff crouched down beside Ann and slipped his arm over her shoulder. For a second Ann considered shrugging him off, but decided that it would be childish to do so. Instead she turned to face him.

"Look Ann, I know I behaved like an idiot, ok?" Cliff admitted. "I was jealous; stupid I know. But please, I don't want to lose you over something like this."

Ann felt a wave of blissful relief wash over her as he spoke, and it was then that she remembered his birthday present. "Oh no!" she gasped, leaping to her feet.

"What is it? Where are you going?" asked Cliff, who looked stricken. Ann had already raced out of the room, though, so he didn't get a reply.

A moment later she was back again. "Here you go Cliff. Happy Birthday!" Ann handed him a small square package that was very carelessly wrapped with brown paper. "As you can see, I'm terrible at all that homey stuff," she added, making Cliff chuckle.

"'Forget-me-not Valley?'" said Cliff, reading the title of the book he had just unwrapped.

Ann nodded, barely concealing a knowing smile.

"I don't understand," Cliff went on. By now his brow was furrowed in confusion.

That just made Ann grin even more. "It's quite simple actually," she told him. "We're going there. Not forever or anything," she added hastily, before Cliff thought that she wanted them to elope. "Just to visit. I know you've never been and it's not far, we could easily walk it. The views there are supposed to be stunning." She waited anxiously for Cliff's verdict; he now just looked totally surprised. Ann wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"How long would we be gone?" he asked her.

"Well," said Ann, "if we left early enough in the morning, I'd say we could get back by nightfall. I've already sorted everything out with dad and your job at the winery, so that's ok. There is one small problem though."

"What's that?"

Taking a deep breath beforehand, Ann explained. "Well, as Mary's wedding is coming up, I'm quite busy at the moment, which means we have to go while we have the chance. Like I said, I got you time off work and I've spoken to my dad, but it's all arranged for one day. And if we want to go it has to be then. So, what do you think?"

To Ann's utter relief and amazement, Cliff was grinning madly. He looked thoroughly excited, like a little kid at the Stocking Festival. "This is the best birthday present I've ever had!" he exclaimed. "Of course I want to go! So, what day are we leaving, then?"

Ann took another sharp intake of breath, "Tomorrow."

* * *

_A/n- Well, that's it for another chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it! In the next chapter Ann and Cliff embark on their trip to Forget-me not Valley and some of the HM: AWL characters will make appearances. Thanks for reading!_


	12. Forget Me Not Valley : Part 1

_**Disclaimer-** I don't own Harvest Moon or any of it's characters._

_**Author's Note-** Firstly, I'm so sorry that it took me this long to update. I've been pretty busy lately with cousework and exams and just school in general. I'll be off for two weeks soon, though, so hopefully Part 2 of this chapter won't take as long. Also thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: Awesome Rapidash, NightimeRoseOX, JeSsIcA-in-DA-HoUsE, Sarah303, Starrnight and Ekoaleko. I love reading your comments!_

Chapter 12- Forget-Me-Not Valley (Part 1)

The morning after Cliff's party turned into one big rush. It got off to a pretty good start, but things went downhill when Ann suddenly remembered she hadn't told Mary about the trip. She rushed back to her friend's house only to discover that Doug had informed Mary about it himself. Then, upon taking a short cut through Jack's farm, they were waylaid by a excitable Buttons.

"Why can't he keep his mad dog under control?" Cliff grumbled, as Buttons ran off with his sandwiches. Ann pretended not to hear.

Eventually, they managed to get away with their sandwiches (more or less) still in tact. "At least they're reasonably edible," Ann said, in an attempt to lighten the mood. They made their way through the wooded area, near Gotz's house, and then began the steep incline that would lead them over Mother's Hill and into Forget-Me-Not Valley.

"I'm beginning to think we should have brought oxygen tanks, Ann," Cliff panted, a few minutes later. He attempted to leap over a large stone that was in his way, but tripped and fell flat on his face. Ann laughed loudly as she helped him up, though she was all too aware that she was also finding the journey demanding. More than she imagined it would be, anyway.

After that, they spent the rest of the morning trekking through the mountains in silence in near unbearable heat, until at last stopping for lunch. Ann was beyond relieved about this because she was both tired and hungry, but was pretending not to be.

"We couldn't have wished for better weather," Cliff pointed out as he and Ann sat on a boulder to eat an early lunch. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was fun. The sky stretched out above her was such a pure, even blue that it seemed unreal. There were faint, fluffy clouds too, but they were way in the distance. Ann just hoped Forget-me-not Valley was as gorgeous.

Unfortunately, the clouds in the distance slowly darkened to a menacing grey as the day went on. The journey was beginning to take a lot longer than Ann had first anticipated, so she was hoping that the rain would hold off for awhile as it would make the path even more trecherous.

As Ann had learnt in life, however, wishing hard for something rarely has any effect at all, especially where the weather was concerned. Today was no exception.

It started as just one drop of water landing on Ann's nose as she was walking along, then more and more began to fall. Suddenly, it was like they had stepped into a shower as the rain began to fall heavily.

Ann quickly latched onto Cliff for fear of falling over as the ground beneath them quickly became slippery. Together they battled through the rain while the path became narrow, winding and even more dangerous. Ann was just beginning to wonder if they'd ever reach Forget-Me-Not Valley, and was actually considering suggesting they turn back, when Cliff suddenly shouted out, "Look, look, we're here! There it is!"

And he was right. They had reached the top of small dirt track which cut sharply through the mountain and would lead them right into the village. Ann tried to catch a glimpse of the it, but the rain was obscuring her vision.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" she asked dubiously, staring down at the dirt which was fast turning into mud. "I don't really mind getting muddy, but maybe we should wait for the rain to ease off a little..."

Cliff shook his head. "The rain's slowed us up enough as it is," he answered brightly. "I'll go first, ok? Don't worry. It'll be fine."

Famous last words, Ann thought as she trailed after him.

Soon enough she was proved right. Though to be fair it wasn't really Cliff's fault. In her haste to keep up with him, Ann slid over and crashed into his legs, knocking them out from underneath him. He fell into her lap and together they slipped and slid all the way down the hill, landing in a crumpled heap at the bottom.

"S-sorry, Cliff," Ann spluttered, as she untangled herself from him. The rain was still pouring down on top of them and Ann knew she must look a state. Cliff certainly did, anyway. His hair was plastered to his mud streaked face and had come loose from it's usual ponytail. "Here, let me help," Ann offered. She started trying to prise the mud out of Cliff's hair, but he caught her eye and they both collasped with laughter at the mess they'd gotten themselves into.

"Hello?"

Ann abruptly stopped messing around with Cliff's hair and looked around.

Stood in front of them was a nervous looking young woman of around eighteen. She had straight, brown hair with eyes the same colour, and she was staring at Ann and Cliff as though they'd just fallen out of the sky.

Scrambling to her feet, Ann grabbed the woman's hand and shook it enthusiastically. "Hi! Ann Lawson," she announced. "That's me by the way," she added when the woman looked blank, and a little suprised. "And this is Cliff. We're visiting from the next town over. Hey, is there an Inn anywhere nearby? We're getting soaked."

The woman beamed brightly as Ann finished her speech. "I'm Celia," she told them warmly. "And yes there is an Inn nearby; it's on the other side of the river. You could always just come inside the farm where I live until the rain stops. Vesta won't mind, she loves guests."

Vesta turned out to be a large, friendly lady with a loud voice and welcoming nature. She didn't oppose Ann and Cliff staying in her house one little bit, despite the fact that they were total strangers. Ann was hopeful that everyone in the village would be as kind.

_Then_, they met Marlin. He was as grumpy as Vesta was cheery, and didn't seem particularly thrilled to see that his home had been overtaken by strangers. It wasn't really surprising though, considering the fact that Vesta's house was pretty small.

Once the rain had stopped, Ann and Cliff set off around the valley. It was nowhere near as big as Mineral Town, but there was still plenty to see. First stop was the Blue Bar on the other side of the river.

The tiny pub was nearly empty when Ann and Cliff went in. In fact, the only occupants were two young women, both of whom eyed the newcomers with interest.

"Hi! I haven't seen you two around here before," said the blonde barmaid. "Are you new?" She said 'you two', but Ann noticed that her large green eyes were fixed firmly on Cliff.

"Not exactly," Ann interrupted loudly, making her presence very clear. "We're visiting from Mineral Town." She noticed the red-headed girl sat at the bar looked mildly amused by this and went to sit near her, while Cliff fetched them drinks.

"Hey, I'm Ann."

"Nami," the girl answered, nodding in acknowledgement. She then took a large gulp of some strong smelling drink that made Ann reel.

"I don't think Muffy the barmaid really likes you," Cliff muttered as he sat down next to Ann. "She thinks you're a bit rude."

Ann just shrugged. Personally, she thought Muffy was rude. "What's this, anyway?" The drink Cliff had placed in front of her was clearly not the wine she'd asked for.

"Oh they didn't have wine so I got us a Stone Oil each, instead," he explained.

"Uh-huh. And what is Stone Oil exactly?" she asked warily.

It was Cliff's turn to shrug, "No idea."

"It's pretty nice actually," Nami chimed in unexpectedly, lifting her own drink up, "once you get over the smell that is."

Ann was fast losing all enthusiasm for the strange drink- not that she had much to start with, really. Feeling that she may as well go for it, Ann picked up the Stone Oil and clinked her glass quickly against Cliff's. "Here goes," she breathed. Cliff lifted his own and repeated Ann's words so solemnly that Nami burst out laughing.

"Honestly, you two!" she gasped. "It's not poison!"

"Well, technically- " Cliff began.

Cutting across him, Nami snapped, "Oh just drink it!"

So they did. Simultaneously Ann and Cliff raised their glasses and drank- and simultaneously they gagged and spat them straight back out again.

"That was horrible!" Ann exclaimed, no longer caring if she looked stupid or not. All she could think of was her tongue and how it felt as though it was on fire.

Needless to say, they didn't finish their Stone Oils before leaving to see the rest of the village.

* * *

"We're gonna have to go home soon, y'know," Cliff sighed, resting his chin on Ann's head.

"Yeah, I know," she answered after a short silence. Ann didn't want to leave any time soon, but she knew that they had to.

They had gone around the whole village earlier, but the beach was by far Ann's favourite place. It was nothing like Mineral Beach, which felt much more man-made, when compared with the untouched feel of the one they were stood on now.

"Come on," Cliff said at last. He took Ann's hand and they trailed reluctantly across the sand. "This has been a great day, hasn't it?" he continued as they slowly climbed the hill back up to the main road. "Minus the rainstorms, mudslides and toxic drinks I mean."

Ann laughed. "If you take away all that stuff, there isn't much else left! That was pretty much our day!"

"I know," Cliff persisted, wrapping his arms around her as they came to a standstill, "but it was still fun. As long as I'm with you I don't care what happens."

Ann was so touched by this she couldn't think of anything at all to say in reply. Anything she did say was, in her opinion, likely to be complete rubbish anyway, so she solved the problem by leaning forward and kissing Cliff softly.

He kissed her back harder and more passionately, causing some passing blond boy to wolf-whistle at them. Cliff pulled away and blushed sweetly.

"Well, that was rude," he said, obviously embarrassed.

Slipping her hand against his face, Ann smiled. "Don't worry about it," she told him. "Hey! Before we leave, can we go and sit by the waterfall just one last time? I loved it there. Almost as much as the beach, in fact."

Cliff looked hesitant. "I don't know. I liked it there too, but it's going to get dark soon." He was clearly torn. "Ok, ten minutes there, then we really _have_ to leave. Right?"

"Right," Ann agreed joyfully.

On the way to the waterfall, they passed a farm that, according to what Celia had told them earlier, was currently unoccupied. "You know," Ann mumured thoughtfully, "I've always liked the idea of being a farmer. I love animals and the outdoors, and I don't mind getting dirty either. It would be the perfect life for me really. What do you think, Cliff?"

For some reason, this topic of conversation seemed to upset Cliff. He barely grunted a reply before heading in the direction of a little pond, leaving Ann to sit by the waterfall on her own. She didn't know what was wrong with him so decided just to leave him alone for a bit.

It was only when she sat down that Ann remembered Jack was a farmer. Her talking about wanting to be one too had probably dredged up yesterday's jealousy. For a minute she felt angry, but just watching the the water gently flowing against the rocks seemed to have a calming efffect on her. Her anger with Cliff fast melted away and was soon replaced by a peaceful, relaxed feeling...

* * *

With sudden jolt Ann awoke and sat bolt upright. _Wait,_ she thought, _awoke? I wasn't even asleep...was I?_

Staring around her, she noticed that the view had changed considerably. The sun which had been slowly setting was now gone completely, leaving an unforgiving darkness. Likewise, the warm summer breeze had been replaced by a cold, brisk wind.

Trying hard not to panic, Ann stood up and glanced around. Cliff was nowhere to be seen. The area by the pond where she had last seen him was now completely deserted. In fact, Ann couldn't see any movement in the woods at all.

"Cliff?" she called out to the air before her.

No reply.

"_Cliff?_" Ann shouted again, this time with more urgency.

Still no answer.

Ann couldn't understand it. Cliff wouldn't leave her like this, he just wouldn't. He wasn't like that.

The emptiness of the woods was beginning to get to her, so Ann set off at a run back along the path and onto the main street. Here, everything was bathed in the comforting glow of the streetlamps, but this did nothing to unclench the knot of panic that was fast forming in her stomach...


	13. Forget Me Not Valley : Part 2

_**Disclaimer-** I don't own Harvest Moon._

_**Author's note-** Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: Ekoaleko, NightimeRoseXO, StarrNight, JeSsIcA-in-DA-HoUsE, Vadraxia and Awesome Rapidash. I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter and hopefully leaves a review as I love reading them. Thanks!_

Chapter 13- Forget-Me-Not Valley (Part 2)

_The emptiness of the woods was beginning to get to her, so Ann set off at a run back along the path and onto the main street. Here, everything was bathed in the comforting glow of the streetlamps, but this did nothing to unclench the knot of panic that was fast forming in her stomach..._

"Hey! Hey, you there, the red-headed girl!"

Ann spun around in the street and came face to face with the blond boy who had whistled at her and Cliff earlier. "Oh, it's you," she answered, feeling disappointed. "What d'you want, then?"

At this the boy grinned widely, exposing a set of perfect pearly teeth. "I'm Rock," he told her, avoiding the question.

"That's lovely," she sighed, exasperated. "I'm Ann, and I'm a bit busy at the moment, if you don't mind."

Rock didn't seem too bothered by her less than friendly attitude. "So, where's your boyfriend gone?" he persisted, cheerfully.

_Does this boy ever give up?_ Ann wondered. She bit down hard on her lip. That was one question she really didn't want to answer.

"He's...um...gone to...uhhhh..." Ann's voice trailed away to nothing as she cursed herself for being so unimaginative. "You haven't seen him anywhere, have you?" she added, hopefully.

The hope that had briefly lit up inside her was quickly extinguished when Rock shook his head, "Are you gonna be ok?"

The real answer to that question was much more complicated than the one Ann found herself giving. "Yeah, sure," she said brightly.

It was false brightness of course. If she was being truthful she would have mentioned the fact that she was meant to have left well before nightfall, yet it was now nearly pitch black. Also, that her boyfriend appeared to have left her completely alone in a strange town. Assuming, of course, that Cliff wasn't injured somewhere. Or worse.

_No, no! Don't think like that,_ she scolded, mentally, _there's probably a perfectly good explanation for all this._

"Are you sure you're ok?" Rock asked Ann again, noticing how distracted she seemed.

For a while, Ann didn't reply. She had just thought of her father back home. He was probably going mad right at this very moment. He was probably ranting that he should never have let Ann out of his sight, ranting about what he'd do to Cliff when he got hold of him, ringing around the neighbours to try and find them...of course, deep down he would be so worried. He'd always been protective of Ann since her mother had died. This was probably tearing him apart.

_How could we be so selfish?_ Ann wondered, miserably. Then another thought hit her. A much more useful one.

"Do you have a phone?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah," Rock laughed, "who doesn't?" Then he frowned. "This isn't some dumb questionaire, is it?"

"_What?!_ No! No, I was wondering if I could use your phone. Please?"

As realisation dawned, Rock smiled. "Oh right!" he said. "Yeah ok. I live at the Inn over there," he informed her, pointing out a large, two-storey building nearby.

Ann took one more quick glance up and down the Cliff-free street before following Rock inside. After briefly meeting his parents- who incidently looked nothing like him -she was hurriedly dialling her home phone number. "Hurry up, Dad," she muttered, as the phone rang and rang. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, Doug answered.

"Hello, Doug's Place. Can I help you?"

"Dad, it's me!"

"Ann! Where on earth are you?" he half-shouted. "Why didn't you come home before it got dark? You promised you wouldn't stay this long! Is this anything to do with Cliff because if it is...I mean, I always thought he was such a nice boy. Now this happens and I don't know what to think! Is anything wrong? Where are you going _stay_? You've not eloped, have you-?"

This went on and on for ages until at last Doug drew breath, so Ann could get a word in edgeways.

"Dad, look, we haven't eloped, ok? It's nothing like that," she explained calmly. Well, as calmly as possible in the circumstances. "Everything's fine. There was a _minor_ problem which meant we couldn't make it back straight away. That's all it is. Honestly."

"What problem?" Doug asked promptly.

"Oh, um..." Ann glanced around the foyer for inspiration. All she could see were a lot of plants and some oriental looking statues. They didn't really help her much. After all, Doug was unlikely to fall for the 'Cliff was eaten by a giant plant, but don't worry he'll be right as rain in the morning' lie.

Then, she spotted Rock's mother, Ruby, walking out of a door on the right. Judging from the delicious smell that wafted out of the room, it had to be a kitchen. That was when Ann was hit by a sudden burst of inspiration.

"Cliff has food poisoning, Dad," she lied, ignoring Rock who was now watching her with a look of confusion.

There was a sudden silence at the other end of the line, then, Doug said, "Oh. Well, that's terrible! Is he going to be ok?"

For a moment Ann started nodding, then remembered Doug couldn't see her. "Yeah, he'll be fine, don't worry," she answered. "We've found somewhere to stay for tonight and we'll be back tomorrow, just as soon as we can."

"Will Cliff be ok by then?" Doug asked, and Ann could clearly hear the uncertainty in his voice.

"Er...yeah?" she replied, equally uncertain. "I guess he will."

"Did you see a doctor?" Doug went on, as Ann began to regret lying.

_"Yes,"_ she told him, despite the fact that she wasn't sure if Forget-Me-Not Valley even _had_ a doctor.

This was followed by yet another long silence, broken only by a distinct sigh at the end of the line. Finally, Doug spoke. "Well ok," he said slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Ring me straight away if anything happens."

"Ok. Bye, Dad."

As she put the phone down, Ann closed her eyes tightly. At that moment she would have given anything just to be in Mineral Town. Her home. Sure, Forget-Me-Not Valley was lovely enough, but when you happen to be alone and stranded it's considerably less enjoyable.

"What am I going to _do_?" she muttered to herself.

"Well, you could start by telling me what's going on," Rock suggested, making Ann jump; she'd forgotten all about him. "I did let you use my phone after all. Well, it's my parent's phone really, but mine, their's- it's all the same."

Ann laughed, though she still felt horrible inside, "Ok, I'll tell you."

Rock was once again frowning when Ann came to the end of her story. "So," he began slowly, "you lied to your Dad...to protect your boyfriend? Right?"

"Well, yeah I lied, but only to stop my Dad getting unecessarily worried about me," she confirmed.

"Your boyfriend is missing!" Rock blurted out. "How's that not worrying?"

Grateful though she was to the boy, Ann couldn't help but feel irritated. She would solve this problem, it was just going to be a bit tricky. Rock making negative comments wasn't exactly helpful. Even if they were true.

"Cliff has to be around here somewhere," Ann pondered out loud. "I just have to find him- "

"Unless he's already left," Rock interrupted.

_Another unhelpful, but possibly true comment,_ Ann thought, dully. "He might not have left," she continued, bracingly. "Tomorrow morning I'll look for him. If I find him and he doesn't have an amazing reason, I'm afraid I may just have to kill him for being an idiot. If I don't find him at all, then I'll go home alone and, er...talk to my friend Mary. She always gives me great advice."

Ann lapsed into silence as she thought about her friend back home. She wondered briefly if Mary knew she hadn't returned home. Probably; Dad would have rung up everyone he could think of. _What about Jack,_ she thought, _surely Dad would have called him too?_ Ann tried to picture Jack's reaction to the news. He'd definitely be worried, after all they were very close; Ann regarded Jack as a sort of second best friend. If it was him that hadn't come home she'd be beside herself. With a sigh Ann reflected that Jack could always see the funny side of things. He was just the sort of person you'd want to have around in a situation like this. Only he wasn't there...

"Where are you going to stay tonight?" Rock asked, cutting through Ann's wistful thoughts.

"Oh!" she cried, feeling instantly stupid. "I never thought about that! I don't know."

"How about here?" Rock suggested. "I'm not entirely sure that we've got room though," he added, almost as an afterthought. "I can always ask-"

But Ann shook her head, "No money. Cliff's got the small amount we brought with us and I doubt even that would cover a room."

"Well you can't sleep in the streets!" said Rock, making Ann roll her eyes. "That'd just be stupid!"

Ann grinned. "Thanks for that gem of wisdom, Rock," she answered. "But I don't intend to sleep on the streets. I just happen to have made a friend earlier- well, a sort of friend, anyway, more of a casual aquaintance, to be honest. But I'm sure she'll put me up."

* * *

The next day dawned bright and sunny in Forget-Me-Not Valley. You'd never know anything was wrong. The sun beamed down on the little village; it's warm rays creeping in through every window. It was the glaring sunlight that woke Ann from her surprisingly peaceful sleep that morning. Well. That and the incessant tweeting of the birds.

"Oh, I wish they'd just shut up," she mumbled groggily, pulling the sleeping bag as far over her head as it would go. Unfortunately for her, it was a pink sleeping bag, pale pink and complete with all sorts of frills and bows. Ann had never seen anything like it in her life, but last night was hardly the time to be choosy.

She rolled over sleepily and found herself wondering how Celia had gotten her bedroom floor so soft. Perhaps she was just tired though, making it seem more comfortable than it really was.

"What's that?" Celia mumbled from somwhere nearby.

"Just telling the birds to give it a rest," Ann answered. She heard Celia laughing at that,

"Oh, they're like it most mornings when the weather's nice. It's like a sort of alarm clock."

Suddenly, the room was illuminated by sunlight so bright that Ann sat up quickly to see what had happened. It turned out to be Celia opening the curtains and she was about to lie down again, when-

"LOOK! Cliff! It's Cliff!"

Ann was suddenly wide awake, "What? Where?" She rushed over to the tiny window.

"There!" said Celia, pointing out a tall figure making it's way across the little wooden bridge.

Ann squinted to get a better look, but there was really no doubt about it. It was definitely Cliff.

A burst of emotions rushed through her at the sight of him, with relief high on the list. There was annoyance too, and anger, but those could wait.

Throwing open the window, Ann stuck her head out and yelled at the top of her voice, "CLIFF! OI, CLIFF! Up here you idiot!" she added, as he stared around in bewilderment.

The look on Cliff's face when he spotted her was priceless. It was another one of those wish-you-had-a-camera moments. His jaw dropped right open and he bounded like an eager puppy to the window she was hanging out of.

"Ann!" he breathed, a look ecstasy on his face. "You're ok! I can't believe it! I mean...how did you-? What _happened_-?"

"I'll be down now," Ann told him. Just seconds later, she'd said hurried 'goodbyes' and 'thankyous' to Celia's family, and had burst outside and into Cliff's arms.

For quite a while they just stood there, each basking in the glorious relief of finding one another. Breathing in each others scent as though they'd never see one another again...

Then, the fairytale ended abruptly and Ann pushed Cliff roughly away from her.

"Where on earth did you go?" she demanded angrily. "One minute I was sat by the waterfall and you were by the pond-"

"I wasn't by the pond, I was having a look around that old farm!" Cliff interjected, sounding surprised.

"Well, what were you doing there?"

"Just having a look around," he continued. "Then, I saw these two little puppies running about. They looked like strays, so I tried to do the good thing and take them to a nearby house, but they got away from me and by then it was getting dark. _Then,_ if you'll believe it, I was accosted by some little homeless man who kept begging me for money! And it's not funny Ann, so you can stop giggling! By the time I got away from him you were gone. I thought you must have just left without me."

Ann felt hurt and a little shocked. "I wouldn't have left you," she exclaimed. "Why would you think that?"

"Why would you think that about me?" Cliff countered. "And by the way, if you were wondering where I spent last night it was a barn."

"You broke in?"

Cliff just shrugged, "It was already unlocked and the troughs were actually quite roomy." He grinned and at last Ann began to see the funny side.

"I had a sleeping bag!" she teased, dancing about and ruffling his hair. "Beat that!"

Leaping forward Cliff slipped his arms around her waist, swinging her around until they fell into a heap on the grass, too helpless with laughter to get up. "And now we _really_ should go home," he announced after a while of just lying together in the sun. "Your Dad is going to be so mad with me, isn't he?"

"Ah, about that," Ann said, as they set off along the path home. "You have food poisoning."

"I do?"

"Yep, but don't worry I'll explain everything on the way home!"

* * *

_A/N- Well, another chapter done and thankfully posted a lot quicker than last time! I hope everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!_


	14. Blue Feathers And Wedding Dresses

_**Disclaimer-** I don't own Harvest Moon._

_**Author's note-** Yay, another pretty fast update (faster than usual anyway). I'm quite happy with this chapter, so I hope everyone enjoys it! Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: StarrNight, Vadraxia, Ekoaleko, Morgan Lee Faye and NightimeRoseOX. Thanks so much!_

Chapter 14- Blue Feathers and Wedding Dresses

A few weeks after her adventures in Forget-Me-Not Valley it was Ann's birthday. She was twenty-one on the seventeenth and while to her this wasn't a big deal, Jack seemed to think it was.

That was his reason for ringing the Inn _very_ early that particular morning.

Ann rolled over in her warm, comfy bed, thinking absently about the weird dream she'd just had which involved Blue Feathers and wedding dresses. She had just reached the conclusion that she must have been thinking of Mary and Gray, and was preparing to go back to sleep, when there was a loud knocking at her bedroom door. Who's that at this time? she wondered, pulling herself upright.

"There's someone on the phone for you, Ann," her father called sleepily from the other side of the door.

Thinking it was probably Mary with some wedding news- though why it couldn't wait she didn't know -Ann reached over and grabbed her own phone off the bedside table.

"Hey Mary," she mumbled.

"Mary? It's Jack!" he announced, sounding ridiculously cheery for five o'clock in the morning. "Happy Birthday!"

_Trust Jack,_ Ann thought, grinning in spite of herself. "Do you know what time it is?" she asked through a massive yawn.

"Well, I always get up at six, don't I?"

Ann rolled her eyes to the ceiling, "Jack it's only _five_."

"No it's not! Wait a minute- " Judging by the sudden silence at Jack's end of the line, Ann assumed he'd gone to check his clock or something. A few seconds later he was back, "Ok you're right, but it doesn't matter. I was just so excited about today!"

"Why? Is it your birthday too?"

"No, I'm just excited about your's, that's all," he explained.

_Why though?_ Ann wondered. They weren't having a party this year, so there wasn't anything for Jack to be looking forward to. Perhaps he just hadn't realised yet. "I'm not going to have a party," she pointed out, as tactfully as possible. "Cliff and I were just planning to go for a pizza at Kai's this lunchtime. Manna and Duke have given him an extended lunch-break specially, you see."

"Oh I knew you weren't having a party", Jack answered, "because you'd have invited me right?" At this point Ann could almost see him winking cheekily, and she laughed,

"Yeah, of course I would."

"Anyway, I was ringing to ask if you'd come round to mine today," he continued. "I have a great surprise for you."

Ann couldn't help feel intrigued by this, as Jack was very imaginative, and his surprises were nearly always good.

"Ok," she agreed, "what time?"

After a brief moment of hesitation, Jack mumbled, "Um...now?"

"You've got to be joking, Jack; it's five o'clock in the morning!" Ann cried in disbelief. Deep down though, she couldn't help but feel pleased that he was so eager to see her. "Look, give me an hour and I'll be there, ok?"

"Fine," Jack grumbled before putting the phone down.

Ann also put her reciever back and flopped down onto the bed again. As she pulled the covers around her, determined to get a bit more sleep, her mind buzzed with thoughts of Jack's surprise. Funnily enough, when she did at last drift off, her dreams were once again plagued by Blue Feathers and wedding dresses.

* * *

It was a scorching day in Mineral Town, yet the streets were deserted as Ann made her way to Silver-Ridge Farm. A quick glance at her watch told her she was over fifteen minutes late for meeting Jack so she sped up, all the while regretting taking the scenic route. She raced through Rose Square, down past Yodel farm, waved at Rick who was stood feeding chickens and finished up outside Jack's front door, doubled up with a stitch.

Once she'd recovered enough, Ann went to knock the door, but Jack flung it open first.

"Hey!" he started cheerfully before noticing the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"St-stitch...owww...I should not have run..." she panted, clutching her side.

"Come in," Jack offered quickly.

The first thing Ann noticed when she stepped into the farmhouse was that Buttons didn't immediately bound up to her in greeting. While Jack went into the kitchen to fetch them drinks, Ann searched for him. It turned out he was lying under the dining room table with his head between his paws, looking thoroughly miserable.

"Hey Jack, what's wrong with Buttons?" she asked when he came back clutching glasses of pineapple juice.

For some strange reason, Jack grinned. "Oh don't worry about him, he's just sulking."

Ann was shocked; Buttons didn't sulk. He was the liveliest, friendliest dog she knew. Admittedly, Ann didn't actually know many, but that was besides the point; Buttons was still lovely.

"So why is he sulking, then?" she wondered aloud.

Jack grinned wider than ever now, "That's to do with my surprise," he told her mysteriously. By this point, Ann was absolutely desperate to know what was going on, though she tried hard not to show it. She knew Jack well and if he thought for a moment that he had her interested, he would drag this out for as long as possible.

"Want to know what my surprise is, Ann?" Jack continued tantalislingly, while she just shrugged. "You'll love it, trust me."

Again, she said nothing.

"It's in the kitchen..."

"Really?" Ann's head shot up as she abandoned all pretence of uninterest. "What do you mean by 'it'?" she added, feeling slightly suspicous.

There was then a long silence in which Jack took an unecessarily long drink of juice. Ann was just about ready to scream at him, when he muttered, "Well, I said 'it', but what I really should have said is 'she'..."

"She?" Ann reapeated slowly. "You mean there's something _alive_ in your kitchen?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Go on, take a look."

More out of curiosity than anything else, Ann stepped past Jack and into his messy kitchen. She felt wary, but as far as she was concerned she had the right to be. There was every chance Jack was referring to a spider, or something much worse, when he said 'she'...

"Wow, Jack! Thank you _so _much! Oh, I love you!" Ann gasped when she spotted what he had been talking about. She whirled around in delight and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "She's so beautiful!"

There, sat in little wicker basket in a corner of the kitchen, was a puppy. One that could compete with Buttons in terms of cutness any day. She was black all over with tiny white paws and a white patch across her chest.

"She is mine right?" Ann asked as she ruffled the puppy's silky ears; one of which pointed upwards, while the other flopped down.

"Sure," Jack confirmed. "She's a collie-cross if you were wondering. And she's called Bracken, but you can change that if you want."

Shaking her head, Ann said, "No it's cute; it suits her perfectly." She turned to face Jack who had also crouched down by Bracken. "Where did you get her from anyway?"

"My cousin in the city," he explained. "His dog had puppies and he needed homes for them, so he rang me up. I went and picked her up for you a few days ago."

For the next few hours, Ann and Jack played with Bracken outside in the sunlit fields. Buttons, who had been coaxed out of his moodiness by a packet of dog biscuits, also joined in the games of 'fetch' enthusiastically. He now seemed determined to show his new canine friend how it was done, but Ann felt, with a strange sense of pride, that Bracken was more than capable on her own.

When they got too hot under the glare of the summer sun, Ann and Jack retired to the shade of the apple tree to watch the dogs chase each other about. "They sure have a lot of energy, " Jack commented lazily, leaning back against the bark.

Ann nodded contentedly, as she watched Bracken pounce on Buttons. "She's great Jack; the best present I've ever had."

"No problem," he answered simply.

For a while after that, they sat in comfortable silence until Jack spoke up tentatively. "Ann?" he said, slowly. "Y'know earlier?"

"Yeah?" His tone was making her feel nervous.

"Well, you said you loved me, and I was just...you know..." he mumbled, his voice eventually trailing away into silence. Ann waited for him to say more, but Jack had looked away. Her cheeks were now tomato red and she could feel them burning, so she was actually quite grateful.

"I know, and I-I do...as a friend of course," she mumured back.

"Of course," Jack agreed.

_Is it just my imagination or did he seem reluctant to admit that?_ Ann thought carefully, wishing that she would stop blushing. It had gone beyond embarrassing by now.

The topic of love pricked at Ann's memory uncomfortably, and she was almost certain she was forgetting something. Just then Jack nudged her gently, "Hey, weren't you supposed to have met Cliff for lunch or something?" _Ah. That would be it,_ she thought with a horrible sinking feeling, _oh Goddess now I'm in trouble!_

Ann lept to her feet and sprinted out of the farm as fast as she could, shouting to Jack that she'd collect Bracken later. She raced through the streets to Kai's beach restaurant in the vain hope that Cliff would still be there. Unfortunately, he wasn't. Even worse, according Kai, he'd waited ages for her, before storming out in an awful mood.

"Happy Birthday, by the way!" Kai called out as she left. _Yeah, well, it was up until this moment,_ Ann thought as she trailed home, ready to beg and plead for forgiveness.

* * *

Thankfully, Cliff's inevitable annoyance didn't last long. Not much longer than four days anyway. It was the fact that Ann had been with Jack all day that seemed to have pushed him from being slightly miffed into definitely angry. In the end, it was the addition of Bracken that brought Cliff out of his sulking. He was clearly desperate to take her for a walk, but for that he needed to be friends with Ann again. So eventually, they made up.

The remaining days of summer whirled by far too fast for Ann's liking. She and Cliff spent their first Fireworks Festival together, took Bracken for long walks along the beach together and then there was Mary and Gray's wedding to think about.

Before long, it was just days away and so Ann had to go round to Mary's house to try on her bridesmaid's dress. Something she had been dreading.

"Hello Ann," Mary greeted her, that evening. It was a fine day, weatherwise, so she had taken Bracken along with her. The puppy was growing fast and Ann suspected that soon she would be bigger than Buttons. She could only imagine the kind of chaos a dog as wild as him- but much bigger -would create, so she was taking her new pet's training very seriously.

"_Down_ Bracken," Ann commanded as forcefully as possible when the puppy lept up at Mary in enthusiastic greeting. Amazingly, Bracken obeyed and settled for having everyone make a fuss of her instead.

Mary was only too happy to obilge in this while Ann tried on her dress. She could hear her best friend cooing over the dog as she stood in Mary's tiny en-suite bathroom examining her outfit. Mary's mother had made the outfits and Ann couldn't help feeling dubious. As it turned out though, the dress didn't actually look too bad. It wasn't pink anyway, which was something. It was blue; a cool, icy blue. The design was simple, nothing fancy or frilly, which was just what Ann had wanted. According to Anna, it would compliment her eyes beautifully.

Feeling more optimistic, Ann slipped the dress on, glanced at herself in the mirror above the sink and stepped outside.

She spotted Mary rubbing Bracken's stomach, and gushing the sort of meaningless nonsense people come out with around cute animals. Bracken's feathery tail thumped against the carpet, before she noticed Ann and barked happily. Mary looked up, grinning.

"You look great, Ann," she smiled, encouragingly. "You'll be upstaging me!"

Ann laughed, "Oh, I don't know about that," she replied. "Can I see you in _your _dress, please?"

It was clear that Mary had been waiting eagerly to be asked. While she was putting her outfit on, Ann turned her attention to Bracken.

"What do you think of all this then, girl?" she asked the dog softly. "Not quite my usual style it is?"

Even though she knew Bracken couldn't possibly understand her, there was something about those liquid brown eyes that comforted Ann. She found herself sighing.

"What is it?" Mary called almost instantly from the next room. She must have dog-like hearing, Ann thought, with a chuckle.

"Oh, it's...it's nothing, don't worry," Ann answered quickly. Then she hesitated, before saying, "Well, actually...the thing is I had this dream not long ago. About Blue Feathers and stuff. And I was just thinking, y'know...that it's weird."

"I don't think it's weird at all," Mary told her, matter-of-factly. She sounded almost satisfied. "I think it's a sign."

"I was afraid of that..." Ann muttered quietly. But Mary still heard her,

"Why?" she asked, sounding disappointed.

Ann took a deep breath, "Because I don't want to marry Cliff. Not yet, anyway. And that's what you think this dream means, isn't it? Some kind of subconcious message that I want to get married to him."

There was along pause in which she could almost hear her friend thinking hard. "But," Mary said eventually. "I thought you did. I was sure. And then you tell me about this dream and it seems like fate, but then you say you don't feel that way. It doesn't make sense."

Mary seemed to be waiting for a reply, but Ann felt as though her mind had become jammed with thoughts. Finally, she managed to speak."It was just a dream, that's all. It means nothing, and I don't know what you mean by me seeming like I wanted to get married or whatever because, trust me, I don't." For Ann that seemed like an end to the matter, but Mary went on,

"Maybe it's not Cliff you want to marry, though. Maybe it's someone else."


	15. Too Little Too late

_**Disclaimer-** I own nothing._

_**Author's note-** Firstly I want to say that I'm sorry this chapter took me so long. All I can say is that I really wanted to make sure it turned out right, which meant it took longer than expected to write. As always thank you to my reviewers; Awesome Rapidash, StarrNight, Vadraxia, Ekoaleko, JeSsIcA-in-DA-HoUsE, AmyAddict1 and Alien-Child. I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter!_

Chapter 15- Too little, Too Late

The morning of Mary's wedding had finally arrived. Ann had stayed there the night before, so she and Mary could get ready together. Unfortunately, the decision to bring Bracken with her proved to be an unwise one.

Personally, as it was entirely Mary's idea to bring the puppy along, Ann felt the blame should really be put on her. Or maybe that was just wistful thinking? Maybe, she knew perfectly well that this was her fault and was wracked with guilt over ruining her friend's big day in what must surely be record time. You see, when Ann was around to dish out commands, Bracken was amazingly obedient. When she was asleep, however, it was entirely different case. And leaving a disobediant puppy in such close proximity to a wedding dress can never be good news.

Ann was thoroughly glad that she woke up early and discovered the tear before anyone else did. Mainly because she feared the wrath of Anna, but also because it gave her time to sort things out without anyone even realising there was a problem.

She crept, dress in hand, down into the Parker's kitchen. It was so early that the room was barely lit, but as long as it was light enough for Ann to be able to sew she didn't really care. After locating a needle and thread, she sat down at the large table and contemplated the difficult job ahead of her. If she was honest, Ann had only sewn before once, and that was when she was ten. Come to think of it, she couldn't imagine what had posessed her father to give her such a potentially dangerous weapon at that age. Especially as it was her and not someone like Elli who was always careful. However, she'd seen people do this kind of thing and it looked so easy.

_Ha! Famous last words,_ Ann thought, just moments later when she'd drawn blood with the needle.

Suddenly, something brushed up against her leg, making her jump. It was only Bracken. The puppy seemed to realise she'd done something wrong so she rested her head on Ann's knee, whining softly.

"It's okay, girl," Ann soothed, though that statement couldn't be further from the truth. "I'm not mad at you, I'll sort it. But why couldn't you have done something useful I don't know. You could have eaten that cheesecake Karen made for the reception. That would have saved everyone a lot of misery. Probably would have made you sick, though..." she chuckled, before trying to mend the dress.

It only took a few more failed attempts for Ann to realise that this was never going to work. She couldn't even thread the needle, let alone actually sew anything. Bracken, who'd settled on the floor, looked up as she detected a change in the mood. She started whimpering again, but Ann was too busy worrying to comfort her.

There was nothing else for it; she was going to have to tell Mary. By the time Ann had learnt to sew properly the wedding would be over, so she had no other choice. Unless she could think of someone nearby who would sew it. Then, it hit her..._Ellen._

Without considering the implications of waking a frail, old lady at the crack of dawn, Ann had crossed the kitchen and was already outside. It was only while stood on the street that she began to have doubts. Ellen was old, very old in fact, and not exactly in the best of health.

Thinking that anything was worth a try, she set off towards Ellen's house. The air was noticably colder that morning than it had been previously, but as it was the last day of Summer that was to be expected. Ann couldn't wait for Fall to arrive. She _did_ like the Summer, it was just that after a while the constant heat in Mineral Town became unbearable. Soon though, that would be replaced by cool, crisp weather that Ann loved.

After hesitating for a moment, she began to make her way up Ellen's front path, but was stopped when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Ann turned to see Jack stood behind her, beaming. Half-way through opening her mouth to say 'hi', she noticed his clothes.

Jack usually wore overalls, thick gloves and an old, blue baseball cap. Most of which were normally caked in mud. Today was a completely different story though.

"Wow, Jack," Ann said, as she eyed his pristine black suit. "You look so...clean!"

He laughed and adjusted a navy tie. "Well it's for the wedding, isn't it? I couldn't have come in my ordinary farm stuff."

"I don't remember you wearing anything this smart for Elli and Tim's wedding, though," Ann frowned, thinking back to the Spring. She tried to recall the exact day, but all she could remember was the massive argument that Karen and Jack had on the way to the ceremony. No wonder they split up.

Jack shrugged in an off-hand way. "Well, maybe I thought Karen wouldn't want to be upstaged," he said wryly.

For a brief moment, Ann felt the urge to laugh, but she resisted strongly. Instead she playfully hit Jack across the head. "That's not very nice," she told him. "Karen's actually really lovely."

Suprisingly he grinned. "That's a bit rich coming from you! There was a time, not so long ago, when you almost _hated_ her."

"I never!" Ann insisted fiercely, blushing scarlet. More than anything she hoped Jack hadn't sussed out the reason for her disliking Karen. Him.

_Still. That's all in the past now._

Jack's confidence seemed to be fast evaporating though and Ann was suprised to see him looking faintly embarrassed. "So...uh..." he mumbled, clearly searching for a change in topic. "What are you doing out so early?"

"Oh!" It was then that Ann remembered Mary's dress and the predicament she was in. "I'm _supposed_ to be going to Ellen's to see if she can fix Mary's wedding dress."

"What happened?"

"Bracken chewed it."

"Ah," Jack said sheepishly. "Maybe Buttons was a bit of a bad influence on her. He chews up my socks, you know. Sometimes even when they're still on my feet."

Ann laughed out loud, but refused to be distracted again. Mary could wake up at any minute, in fact there was every chance she was already awake.

She had just said a quick goodbye to Jack, when he held her back again. "Hold on," he muttered, examining the bundle of white material in Ann's arms. "Why is Mary getting married in a nightgown?"

"Oh, Jack," she sighed. "It's a _dress_ not a nightgown!"

"Then why are there cutesy little rabbits on the hem?" he demanded, pointing them out.

Ann looked down. And then looked and looked again, though nothing changed. Jack was right. In her mind's eye she saw Mary's room, saw the wedding dress hanging on the wardrobe door...the nightgown had been slung over a chair. She realised her mistake and hit herself on the forehead for being so stupid. She made to do the same thing again, but Jack reached out of nowhere and grabbed her by the wrist.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying to hit myself because I'm an idiot," Ann explained, wriggling free. "What kind of person mistakes a wedding dress for a nightgown?"

"Well, this _is_ made out of silky material," Jack pointed out whilst smoothing the gown. "Besides, you must have just seen this ripped and panicked."

Ann was unconvinced, but had just realised that if this wasn't Mary's dress then the wedding wasn't ruined, and more importantly it wasn't her fault. She felt like singing. Instead though she reached up, kissed Jack briefly on the cheek as she was so happy and bounded back along the sunlit street; only realising what she'd done once she was indoors again.

* * *

"I'll never live it down."

"Aw, don't be silly!" Cliff draped an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder as she finished telling him about the wedding dress fiasco of earlier that day. It was the reception and, as Anna had impractically chosen her house for the venue, they were squashed inside like cattle. It was bad enough trying to fit Mineral Town's entire population into the tiny space, but there were also tables laden with food and an area that had been cleared for the smallest dance floor Ann had ever seen.

She hastily backed up against the wall to let Rick and Lillia pass before answering Cliff. "I'm not being silly," she told him. "Even Mary laughed about it when I told her."

"Well why did you tell her then?"

Ann raised an eyebrow at him. "Funnily enough, I couldn't think of another reason to explain why I was wondering the streets with her nightware in hand."

"Fair point," Cliff grinned. "Still, everything turned out alright in the end, didn't it? The dress wasn't ruined, Gray and Mary had a wonderful wedding-" He slipped his arms around Ann's waist. " -and _you_ were the most beautiful bridesmaid there."

"I was the only bridesmaid there, idiot," Ann pointed out. She hit him around the head, but gently.

Cliff just continued grinning, "You're still beautiful."

Smiling in return, Ann thought back to the wedding. _It_ had _been perfect_, she concluded, happily. Everything had gone without a hitch; unless of course you counted her unnessecarily panicking over Mary's dress, and the fact that her friend was now minus a nightgown. However, Ann had promised to by her a new one in a fit of relief induced generosity.

Her thoughts then moved on to Jack and she found herself wondering if it was relief that had caused her to kiss him earlier.

"What's wrong?" It was Cliff's concerned-sounding voice that crashed through her musings.

Ann supposed she had been frowning in concentration. "Oh nothing," she lied quickly. That was another thing: she had neglected to mention Jack's part in the wedding dress story. Not because she had anything to hide, but simply because she knew Cliff would take it the wrong way or get suspicous. She frowned again, this time knowingly, because she hated Cliff getting all agitated for no reason. She couldn't help but feel slightly irritated with him.

"What's wrong now?" Cliff repeated. There was now a distinct note exasperation in his voice that made Ann feel edgy.

"Nothing!" she replied a little more loudly than intended. After a second, though, Ann relented and kissed Cliff briefly to show she didn't want a fight. "I'm just going to talk to Mary for a bit," she continued. "I haven't spoken to her since the ceremony."

Unhooking his arms from around her waist, Ann made her way away from Cliff and pushed through the crowd. On her way she tried hard to ignore the fact the her father was embarrassingly dominating the dancefloor. She turned away, cringing, and spotted Mary.

They smiled at each other for a moment before saying in unison, "You look lovely."

Mary was stood leaning back against one of the many tables, beaming happily. She did look truly stunning in a floor length dress, long, elengant gloves and a simple gold tiara sat atop a glossy, black bun.

"Where's Gray?" Ann asked as she slipped across to stand by her friend.

"Oh, he's over there with Saibara," Mary replied, still grinning. She nodded her head in the direction of her new husband and Ann looked over.

"Gray looks so strange in a suit, doesn't he?" Ann giggled as she watched the young blacksmith talking to his grandfather. "He seems a lot more confident now, though."

Again Mary just nodded, apparently caught up in a daze of happiness. Ann decided leave her to it and scanned the crowd for a moment. Then she realised who was missing.

"Mary, where's Jack?"

Her friend frowned slightly, "Didn't I tell you? He spoke to me just after the ceremony. Said he couldn't stay; he had to rush back to the farm or something." She shrugged. "I guess his work is really important to him."

"Yeah..."

Somehow though, Ann couldn't imagine Jack getting all dressed up for the wedding then not turning up for the reception. Surely the farm could wait one day? _Something must wrong,_ she concluded grimly.

"Uh, Mary?" Ann began tentatively, nudging her friend gently. "Would you mind if I left the party now? I mean, if you want me to stay, I will. It's just that...I think something might be wrong at the farm. It's so unlike Jack to not turn up- "

Fortunately, Mary seemed to understand at once. "That's okay, Ann. Am I right in thinking you want to go and check on him?"

"Yeah." She then hesitated before adding, "If Cliff asks after me just tell him that something came up and that I'll be back later."

"And will you?"

Ann sighed. "That depends, I guess."

* * *

When she arrived at Silver-Ridge Farm a little later, Ann couldn't help but smile. The fields were so full of life that it was completely unrecognisable as the farm Jack had taken over many years ago. For awhile she just stood and watched the cows and sheep milling around the lush green pasture with the afternoon sun beaming down on them. She had almost forgotten why she was even here, when someone called out,

"What's up, 'smiler'?"

It was Jack, who was now back in his usual farm clothes. Ann turned towards him, grinning even wider, but her face fell slightly at the look on his. He did _not_ seem happy.

"Why aren't you at the reception?" Jack asked briskly, striding over.

Ann's smile vanished completely. "I was about to ask you the same thing!" she exclaimed. _Something was definitely wrong._

It took Jack a long time to reply. Eventually he shook his head looking pained, "You don't want to know," he told her. Then, without warning, he turned and walked off in what was presumably the direction he had come from. He was heading for Nutmeg's stable.

Deciding that something must be wrong with the horse, Ann raced after him, tripping and stumbling in her heels. She entered uninvited, but was surprised to see Nutmeg looking completely heathly.

Perplexed, she turned her attention to Jack who was now sat on an upturned bucket. "Just _what_ is going on?" she asked, feeling her frustration build.

This time Jack said nothing at all.

"Answer me!"

"You don't want to know, honestly," he told her quietly.

Ann decided to give up. "Well if you're going to be cryptic..." she shrugged, before turning to the door. She had her hand on the handle when Jack's suddenly clasped over it. He gently turned her round and before she could say a word, he kissed her. It seemed to go forever, until at last Ann began to wonder why she hadn't stopped him. And more to the point why was she kissing him back?

In the end it was Jack who pulled away first, not her. "Th-that's my problem," he explained shakily.

Shock overtook Ann's body, leaving her completely lost for words. She just couldn't believe what had just happened, it was unreal.

"Please say something," Jack begged. He returned to sit on his bucket, watching her intently.

Eventually Ann found her voice. "What was that about?" she asked slowly.

"Oh, Ann!" Jack said as though this was obvious. He buried his head in his hands. "I like you...I _really_ like you. I-"

"For how long?" she interrupted. It seemed important, at that moment, that she knew this.

He shrugged. "For quite a while, I guess. I only realised it this morning, when I was talking to you and then...you kissed me."

Ann was left reeling. A year ago she would have been absolutely delighted to hear Jack saying this. It was the kind of thing she used to dream about. Now though...everything was different. She had Cliff, Cliff who loved her. Ann felt her stomach clench horribly at the thought of him. She could picture the hurt look on his face if he had seen her and Jack only too vividly. It made her feel sick.

"How could you do this to me?" Ann demanded angrily. "One totally inocent little kiss and you suddenly decide to blow my world apart! It's not fair, Jack!"

"I was sure you liked me back though," he explained, looking bewildered.

Suddenly, Ann felt weary. "I did," she told him quietly. "But you started going out with Karen and I was forced to move on. It's too late now, can't you see?"

Apparently, he couldn't. Jack lept up and kicked the bucket flying out of frustration, "I _wish_ I'd never agreed to date her!"

"But you did," Ann whispered gently, trying hard to smile. She touched his arm briefly and stepped outside. For a moment she considered going back to the party, but decided she wasn't in the mood. Wiping away the tears that had begun flow, Ann turned and headed for Mother's Hill, where she would sit and think for the rest of the day.


	16. Everything Changes

_**Disclaimer-** I don't own Harvest Moon._

_**Author's Note-** I had some really lovely comments for the last chapter, so thanks to everyone who reviewed; StarrNight, Morgan Lee Faye, Lone Nightblade, Awesome Rapidash, Libra1, Vadraxia, JeSsIcA-in-DA-HoUsE, Ekoaleko, Alien-Child and NightimeRoseOX. I'm pleased to say- as it seems as though I've been writing this forever -that this story is nearly finished. If everything goes according to plan there will be two more chapters after this one and also an epilogue. Enjoy the chapter!_

Chapter 16- Everything Changes

Ann couldn't remember dreading the Moon Festival more. It had never bothered her before, but now- ironically -the first time she actually had someone to go with, she couldn't face going at all.

The reason was Jack.

It was now almost two weeks since his revelation, and Ann had barely seen him since. Of course it was Cliff she was going to the festival with, not Jack, but the guilt over their secret kiss was eating away at her. It was bound to ruin the night.

As always in difficult situations, she decided to confide in Mary, who seemed to have taken on the role of her personal counsellor.

* * *

Sitting at the Parker's kitchen table clutching a cup of tea, Ann became increasingly anxious as Mary continued to pace back and forth. She had just told her friend the whole story of what Jack said (and did) and was eagerly awaiting a verdict. 

She soon realised she wasn't going to get one any time soon, and so turned her attention to Bracken. The fast-growing puppy was curled up at Ann's feet, so tired that she didn't even wake up when her owner ruffled her ears. Ann had taken her on a long walk all around Mother's Hill to enjoy the last of a beautiful Fall afternoon before dropping in at Mary's house. She had hoped to come to some sort of conclusion about her life in general during that time, but eventually decided that it would be much easier to just ask her friend.

All of a sudden Mary almost flung herself into the seat oppsite with a thud that jogged Ann out of her reverie. She looked quite nervous, before hesitantly speaking. "You know Ann this is your call. If you feel you should tell Cliff about what happened, then it's your choice. I wouldn't want to be the one who tells you what to do in this situation."

"WHAT?" Ann exclaimed spilling some of her tea. _Mary the advice giver...has no advice?! What's the world coming to?_

"Sorry," Mary smiled weakly, handing her friend some napkins, "but I just think that there are some things you need to decide on your own, y'know?"

Ann nodded as she cleaned up the spilt liquid, but couldn't help feeling slightly frustrated. If she was honest, she wasn't all that great at making decisions. The snowball fight of last winter being a prime example of a poor one.

Letting out a small sigh, she arrived at a conclusion. "I think I should tell Cliff about what happened. It's made things kind of awkward between us lately," Ann explained. "It makes me feel as though I'm constantly lying to him. Even though I'm not. I'm just...avoiding the truth."

At this point Mary raised her eyebrows sceptically, "There's a difference?" she laughed. "Well, at least you can have a guilt free Moon Festival now. Assuming, of course, that Cliff doesn't get overly jealous or anything," she added, frowning.

Ann couldn't help but laugh at this comment. "Seeing as Jack kissed me, I doubt he's going to be too thrilled," she admitted. "Still, I chose him, didn't I? That's got to count for something."

For the next half an hour or so the conversation turned to Mary. Ann was just starting to ask about married life, when the front door opened slowly and Gray walked in, dressed in his messy work overalls.

He was living at the Parker's now, after what must have seemed like an eternity at the Inn. It did to Ann anyway. She could hardly remember a time when Gray hadn't been living there and it was strange without him, especially as it meant Cliff was now staying in his room alone.

"Oh hi, Ann," Gray smiled, walking over. "Seems like I haven't seen you in ages."

"No you haven't," she answered, faking annoyance with him. "Not since you abandoned me and Cliff at the Inn!"

Mary laughed lightly and Ann grinned to show that she was only joking. "How long are you two planning to live here, anyway?" she asked. Personally, Ann felt as though living with Anna for more than a day would be too much, but that was just her opinion.

"Not forever," Mary explained, as she bustled about making a cup of tea for her husband. "We just haven't got the money for a place of our own, at the moment; and I don't know where we'd go even if we did." For a moment she stood still, frowning, as though trying to come up with a solution. Mary then shook her head quickly. "We'll find somewhere."

When she stepped outside later that evening, the icy air hit Ann unexpectedly. It must have been later than she first realised because the lamps had now been lit and the streets were deserted. Bracken whined and shivered next to her.

"Yeah, I know. It's cold," Ann agreed. "Come on girl, lets run home." She grinned, tugging gently at the lead. This simple movement caused Bracken to go mad. She let out a joyfull bark and begin to bound along eagerly. Powerless to stop her dog, Ann just laughed and allowed herself to be pulled.

They both crashed around the corner and were nearly at the Inn when Bracken lunged excitedly at someone. By the time Ann had actually realised what was going on, it was too late and Bracken had knocked them flat.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry," Ann panted, pulling hard on Bracken's lead. It didn't seem to have much effect, however, as the dog was now licking the unfortunate person's face. Ann glanced over and sighed with relief when she realised who it was, "Oh, it's only you Cliff."

"_Only_ me?" he mock-grimaced, standing up and wiping himself down.

"Well, better you than say Lillia," she corrected herself with a grin. At last Bracken had calmed down and Ann was able to relax her grip on the lead. "What are you doing out so late anyway?" she asked.

All the while Ann was saying this, the only thing she could think of was Jack and how she would have to tell Cliff about him. Soon. Maybe even that very evening. She was so caught up in these frightening thoughts that she completely missed Cliff's explanation.

"Uh, sorry- what?"

Cliff sighed heavily, but he smiled none the less. "You're in a world of your own, Ann," he told her. "I just said that I stayed working late at the Winery and so Duke and Manna asked me to stay for tea. What about you?"

Ann was still preoccupied. "What _about_ me?" she asked cluelessly.

Despite looking utterly bemused by her behaviour, Cliff explained. "I was just wondering why you were out late, that's all."

Finally, Ann understood. "Oh right!" she exclaimed, a little too cheerily. On the way inside, she explained what she had been doing at Mary's (obviously missing out the parts that included Jack). She would tell Cliff about him, but not today. She'd do it tomorrow, before the festival. _Definitely._

* * *

The day of the Moon Festival should have been a relaxing one. On 'event days' in Mineral Town everything was closed, which meant that Ann wasn't kept busy at the Inn and Cliff didn't have to go to the Winery. All things considered, they should have had a great time waiting for the evening, but instead Ann was constantly on edge. 

They spent most of the day hanging about the Inn together, listening to music and mooching around aimlessly. Gray wasn't there anymore so Ann had Cliff's full attention. This was particularly ironic as she didn't want it right now. What she wanted was to run and hide and not tell him about Jack. She knew that Jack himself would never tell Cliff. _So what's the problem?_ she asked herself, _he's not going to find out from anyone else, so why bring it up?_

Only she knew why. It was driving her mad and she hated keeping secrets. Ann knew that it would all come out someday and that would be far worse than telling him now. She had to do it, there was no other way.

"Ann? Are you okay?"

There was just one hour to go until the Moon Festival and still she hadn't said anything. Also, she had hadn't uttered a word for the past thirty minutes, which was probably the reason for Cliff's concerned questioning.

Very slowly Ann looked up at him. He was sat on the pillows at the end of her bed with his back pressed up against the window pane. She was sat at the other end leaving a large gap between them.

"Are you okay?" Cliff repeated, a frown forming on his face. His dark eyes were narrowed.

Ann's eyes flew back down at his question. She focused instead on the bracelet in her hand. The one he had given her for her birthday. As a general rule she didn't wear jewellery, so she thought it was a very bold move of Cliff's to choose the bracelet. Not a bad move though, as it turned out that Ann actually loved it. It was made up of blue beads that varied in shade from the deepest navy to the palest powder blue. Despite the fact that she liked it so much, Ann was now twirling it agitatedly around her fingers, almost to the point of breaking it.

Cliff had edged up the bed and was now by her side. "Ann, what's wrong?" he persisted gently.

'Nothing' was the answer she fully intended to give, but somewhere along the way to her mouth the words got lost.

"Jackissedme," Ann blurted out suddenly, before she'd even got her tongue around the sentence.

After that there was a stunned silence; Ann could think of nothing to say and it appeared that Cliff was still digesting the news. When she could no longer bear it, she spoke up.

"Cliff? Say something...please..." Ann begged, quietly.

"Like what?" He got up abruptly and walked to stand at the other side of the room, staring at the floor.

"I don't know-" she began helplessly, but Cliff cut through her.

"And _I_ don't understand," he told her. "You say he kissed you, right?"

Silently, Ann nodded.

"Right, right, _right_," Cliff muttered as if it was a mantra. "Did you kiss him, then?"

Ann nearly fell of the bed she was so thrown by this question. She really didn't know what to say. The truthful answer was 'yes' of course, but if she said that then Cliff would jump to all sorts of conclusions. It wasn't like she wanted to kiss Jack or anything; she wasn't expecting it. It was just a mistake. A stupid, _stupid_ mistake. And one she was going to pay for by the seems of it.

"Well- I wasn't expecting it and- well, y'know- I just-" Once again Ann's voice failed her, and her words came out disjointed and jumbled. Worse still, a quick glance at Cliff's face told her that he had already come to his own conclusion.

When he spoke again his voice was so quiet, it was almost deadly. "When did it happen? The kiss?" He spat that very last word venomously.

Ann flinched instinctively. "It was during Mary's wedding reception," she explained quickly. "Jack vanished, so I went to look for him. I found him at his house. Then, he told me that- that he loved me. But Cliff it was _you_ I chose, it was _you_ that I-"

"Wait!" he interrupted, making Ann jump and drop her bracelet. _What now?_ she thought exasperatedly while picking it up. Does my choosing him mean nothing? "It happened at Mary's wedding?!" Cliff continued. "That was ages ago! Why did you only tell me now?"

"I don't know!" Ann cried; and she really didn't. This was going _so_ wrong. Her image of their perfect first Moon Festival together was starting to crumble before her eyes and it seemed as though every word she said was just making things worse.

In desperation, Ann lept up and approached Cliff. She had no clear idea of what she was going to do when she reached him, but at that moment anything seemed worth a try. "Well, would you have preferred it if I never told you at all?" she asked softly, touching his arm.

Cliff remained stony-faced. "I'd have preferred it if you hadn't kissed him in the first place," he replied icily. Then, he jerked his arm away from her and swept from the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

After the disaster that was the Moon Festival, Ann felt sure that she had blown it with Cliff. They didn't speak at all the day afterwards. Or the one after that. As far as Ann could see it was over. 

She spent the rest of that horrible, ill-fated evening alone in her room, watching the full moon and all the while wishing she was on Mother's Hill with the other happy couples. Concerned, Mary dropped by the next day to ask why her friend wasn't there and Ann told her everything. Mary was very sympathetic of course, but then Mary was always sympathetic. It didn't bring as much comfort as Ann would have hoped. It seemed as though this was one of those things she would have to deal with alone. The operative word being 'alone' as now she had succeeding in losing both Cliff and Jack with very little hope of reconciliation. And to think- just weeks ago she had two people vying for her attentions, and now no one at all. Ironic, or what?

Ann thought about this every time she took Bracken for a walk, which incidently was quite a lot. She found it to be a very good way of avoiding Cliff, but to be honest it was a bit unnecessary, as he was doing an efficient enough job of staying away himself.

This rather depressing line of thought had just entered Ann's head as she was walking along the beach one evening. She tried, instead, to concentrate on Bracken who was racing up and down, splashing playfully in the waves without a care in the world. Ann would have joined her, but the brisk wind made it far too cold, despite the weak sunlight.

She reached the top end of the beach and turned as thoughts of how Bracken would fare in the annual frisbee contest entered her head. She was just picturing scenes of glory when a much more unwelcome one entered her head. It was Cliff. Only he was very much real and present.

Ann froze, but Bracken, oblivious to the strife, bounded over eagerly to greet her friend.

"Hey, get back here!" Ann called, making no difference whatsoever. Bracken was now circling Cliff, who was still stood hopelessly on the beach steps.

With an angry sigh, she marched across the sand. "Hand over my dog, Williams!" Ann demanded, in no mood to be rational.

Cliff blinked at the use of his last name before answering. "I haven't got your dog," he said, in what Ann considered to be an irritatingly calm voice. "She ran over to me, not the other way round."

Deep down, Ann knew he was making sense, but she didn't like admitting it. Instead, she took a packet of dog biscuits out of her pocket and used them to lure Bracken over to her. "Stupid dog," she murmured, clipping the lead onto the collar. Meanwhile, Cliff was still stood on the steps. "What exactly do you want?" Ann asked him pointedly, once she'd straightened up.

Now looking fixedly at the floor, Cliff didn't reply at first. "I thought _you_ might be here," he answered after what seemed like an eternity.

Ann didn't like where this was going. Not one bit. "And why would you want to see me?" she enquired a little too fiercely. A long pause followed, in which Ann was fast losing patience. She couldn't stand him holding this false hope in front of her, tempting her with what she couldn't have. It was most definitely false. Wasn't it? And if there was any hope for them, did she even want it? Truthfully, Ann would have to admit that she didn't know, didn't have the faintest clue in fact. She felt as though she didn't know anything anymore, and it was getting tiresome. Life was just so confusing at the moment.

She sighed outwardly. "Look Cliff, I can't talk now. I have no idea what you want and, to be honest, I don't think you do either. It's cold, it's getting late and I just want to go home. Can we please forget trying to have this conversation?"

Without waiting for an answer she shoved past him and sprinted up the steps. Cliff didn't chase after her or even call after her. He obviously didn't want her.

* * *

The Fall Horse Races were due to take place in Rose Square the very next day. Normally Ann would have been excited about this, but somehow she just couldn't summon up her usual enthusiasm. Besides, everyone knew who was going to win the Big One. 

The Big One was what most of the villagers called the last- and most important - race of the day. The reason it was so important? That would be because only the fastest competitors ran in it. Therefore, it was the most watched, betted on, eagerly anticipated race of the day. People from all around came to run in the Mineral Town races, but there was one problem. That being the fact that over recent years Jack Taylor and Nutmeg had completely dominated the track. As far as Ann could see they were near unbeatable and there was no reason why this time should be any different.

However, there was one upside to the certainty. An upside which Doug demonstrated that morning over breakfast.

"Seeing as it's almost certain that Jack's horse is going to win today," he said. "I was thinking of putting a bet on."

"Oh okay," Ann grinned, pouring extra milk onto her cornflakes. "How much?" Doug then told her- and the milk splashed all over the place.

"Dad, are you utterly mad?" she asked incredulously, her big blue eyes wider than ever. "That's a ridiculous amount to risk!"

He shrugged, carefully avoiding his daughter's stare, while Ann could only sigh in exasperation.

"Well, on your own head be it then!" she told him firmly, before rushing off to find a cloth for the milk.

* * *

It rained on and off as Ann made her way to the Races later that morning. She did wonder if they might be cancelled due to the weather, but doubted that anything would dampen the residents enthusiasm for a good festival. That thought alone made her smile. The thought of everyone happy and bustling about, talking and laughing, enjoying themselves; it was going to be great. 

By the time Ann reached Rose Square the rain had stopped altogether and the sun was daring to poke out from behind the clouds. She would have been perfectly happy- if she hadn't bumped into Jack straight away.

He was leading Nutmeg slowly around the race track that ran around the edges of the square, when Ann tried to cross into the centre. They very nearly collided.

"Whoa!" Jack pulled hard on the reins and Nutmeg came to an abrupt standstill. An awkward silence fell between the two of them. They hadn't spoken for ages, after all, and had hardly parted on the best of terms. Ann couldn't think of much to say. She was too busy wondering if Jack knew about her split with Cliff. He hadn't said anything about it, but then why would he? Would he even care? Ann felt as though she hoped so, but wasn't entirely sure why.

Jack broke the silence first. "So...where's Cliff?" _Ah,_ Ann thought, _so he doesn't know._

She was on the verge of answering, or at least contemplating an answer, when they were interrupted. By Cliff of all people. Ann gestured at her ex-boyfriend. "Well, there's your answer," she said to Jack.

Cliff frowned, not realising what was going on; Jack looked confused as he seemed to pick up on the tension between the couple; and Ann just wanted the ground to swallow her up.

It was Nutmeg that brought them all crashing back to reality by pulling hard on his reins and snorting impatiently. Jack jumped, though he was still watching Ann and Cliff intently. "Well, I'd better be going..." he announced at last. "I'm supposed to be walking Nutmeg around to give him a feel for the track...well see you round, I guess."

With that he was gone and Ann was left alone with Cliff. Well, not literally- there were crowds of other people milling around in the centre of the square, but to her there was only him. And he was watching her with the strangest expression on his face. Ann couldn't quite describe it. It wasn't happiness, but he didn't look angry either as she would have expected. He seemed content, yet...determined? It was very odd.

Before she was waylaid by another horse Ann crossed quickly into the middle of Rose Square. This was where the spectators would stand during the races. For obvious reasons, you couldn't cross the track to leave in the middle of one, but there were gaps between each race to give people the chance to go if they wanted to. Ann had nothing better to be doing, so she intended to stay all day.

"So, um, who are you betting on?" Cliff asked suddenly, before she vanished into the excitable crowd.

What? Ann thought uneasily as she turned to face him, what's that got to do with anything? She desperately needed to know where she stood.

"What's this all about Cliff?"

He blinked at her innocently. "What do you mean?"

"You _know_ what I mean," Ann insisted, her hands on her hips. "One minute you don't want to know me and the next you're trying to make casual conversation. It doesn't make any sense!" At this point she resisted the urge to seize him by the shoulders and give him a long, hard shake.

Instead she stood and waited as patiently as possible for Cliff to reply. Thankfully (for him) he didn't hesitate. "It's...complicated."

"I was afraid of that," Ann muttered bitterly.

Cliff seemed not to hear her. "Well," he began slowly, "the thing is I've been thinking a lot while we've been apart-"

_Oh, here we go._

"-and I've realised that you mean so much to me-"

_Wait! What?!_

"-I realised some other stuff too-"

_Care to elaborate...?_

"-but I'll tell you about that later-"

_Obviously not._

"-I was wondering if you'd meet me at the beach after the races," Cliff went on. "I've got something very important to tell you about. Is that okay?"

Ann nodded happily, even allowing Cliff to kiss her briefly before he went off to place a bet on some horse called Mercury. It was only when he was gone that everything clicked in her mind.

_'You mean so much to me...I've got something very important to tell you...'_ Was this it? Was Cliff going to _propose?_

Ann's heart had never raced so fast.

* * *

_**A/N-** I know that was a bit of a sudden end, but I felt that this chapter was starting to drag on a bit and so I just ended it in the best place I could. Next chapter picks up pretty much straight after this one and hopefully I shouldn't take too long in writing it up. Thanks for reading and please review!_


	17. Realisation

_**Disclaimer-** I don't Harvest Moon's characters, scenery or anything else you might recognise._

_**Author's Note-** Yesss!!! I've finally reached over 100 reviews!! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far: hmgirly12, Shippostail, Vadraxia, Ekoaleko, NightimeRoseOX, Lone Nightblade, Morgan Lee Faye, StarrNight, Awesome Rapidash, Twilight Ilia and Ann Fan. Thank you! Anyway, on to why this chapter was so delayed, and for once I have a pretty valid excuse. Basically my computer just completely broke (I've got no idea what actually happened as I know hardly anything about IT) and it had to be sent away to be fixed. I would have been able to post this chapter much earlier, but couldn't. Anyway, I'm back now, so enjoy the chapter everyone!_

Chapter 17 - Realisation

_Bang!_

A piercing shot rang out across Rose Square signalling that the last race of the day had finally begun.

Ann had somehow become seperated from Cliff and was pressed up against the metal barrier along with the rest of the cheering crowd. She didn't mind a bit though. In fact, this was just the kind of lively atmosphere that she adored. It reminded her ever so slightly of the Inn. Only _very_ slightly though- the Inn wasn't quite that wild, not even on the rowdiest of evenings.

She turned her attentions instead to supporting Jack and Nutmeg as they thundered into the second lap. At the moment they were winning, but only just. A glossy, jet black stallion named Mercury was fast closing in.

With a jolt, Ann remembered that that was who Cliff had betted on.

_Cliff..._

Just thinking of him made her stomach clench and somersault. But that was just nerves, or so she told herself. After all, in less than an hour they could be engaged!

The mere thought of it made Ann's head spin. An entire lifetime with Cliff! Admittedly, it was very hard to imagine, yet she knew it would be lovely to have someone there for her each and everyday. And her father would be so proud of her for having settled down. Yes, getting married was a daunting prospect, but was going to be worth it. Hopefully...

A sudden outburst of swearing originating from somewhere to her right brought Ann back to reality. She twisted round to see Duke looking absolutely fuming. The reason became instantly apparent.

Jack was no longer in the lead, and by the seems of it most of Mineral Town had placed bets on him. The angered shouts demonstrated that clearly enough.

Ann's heart sunk like a stone- it was the penultimate lap and it would take a miracle for Nutmeg to catch up with Mercury now. All of sudden anger flared up inside her, but for a completely different reason to everyone else.

"Just standing there shouting isn't going to help, is it?" she cried, turning furiously on the people stood around her.

Without taking in their reactions, Ann pushed forward and leant as far over the barrier as she dared.

"Come on, Jack! Come on, I know you can do it, I know you can! COME ON JACK!" Soon she was completely hoarse from screaming so loudly.

However, by that point she wasn't alone. Mary and Gray had appeared out of nowhere and were also cheering madly.

Ann didn't know if she had anything to do with it, or if Jack had even heard her, but suddenly Nutmeg bolted back into the race. They were gaining on Mercury little by little...slowly...ever so slowly...then before anyone could take it in Nutmeg was back in first posistion. By this point Ann was yelping with frenzied delight; surely now, in the final lap, there was no way they could lose? They were almost there.

Almost.

That was the problem. Almost never counts.

As Jack went into the final corner- still in the lead -everything seemed to go into slow motion. Nutmeg's hooves scuffed the ground, sending dirt cascading into the air. Jack tugged at the reins desperately, but it was far too late. The horse now tipped right over, his legs splayed in all directions. Ann couldn't help shouting out, but her anguished cries were lost among many others as Jack was thrown sideways from the flailing horse.

He hit the ground at the other side of the track with a thud, and for one heart stopping moment Ann thought he would get trampled. She wanted to yell at him to move, but her voice seemed to have stopped working properly.

At the very last moment, Jack rolled out of the way and the other horses galloped past. No one seemed to have noticed that Mercury had won. Except maybe Cliff.

For a moment, Ann stood stunned. It was as if her mind had jammed with the shock of it all. Jack couldn't be hurt...not _badly_...could he?

"Ann! Ann, there you are!"

She whirled around to see a white-faced Cliff pushing his way towards her. "Are you okay?" he asked at once.

Ann nodded, then shook her head before finally settling on shrugging. "I don't know," she told him honestly. "There's nothing wrong with me, but is Jack okay? Did you see what happened to him? I couldn't get through the crowd and- and-"

"Calm down," Cliff soothed, placing his hands on her shoulders in what was obviously supposed to be a comforting manner. It didn't help Ann all that much, but then she couldn't see how anything would just now. "I saw Jack go off with Elli and Tim, and he was walking. That's got to be good, right?"

"He wasn't limping or anything then?"

Cliff suddenly looked a bit awkward. "Well, yeah," he admitted, "but...what else can you expect? He didn't look too bad. I guess."

Ann felt only slightly reassured by this. The wild panic had subsided, though she could still feel a knawing sensation in the pit of her stomach. It must of shown in her face because Cliff sighed audibly.

"You won't be satisfied until you've actually seen that he's okay, will you?" he asked softly.

Briefly, Ann considered disagreeing with this statement and saying that, no, her life didn't revolve around Jack and hadn't they better be getting to the beach? After all, they could soon be married so she had to make it clear where her loyalties lay. Strangely though, it was Cliff himself that stopped her, or more to the point the look on his face.

Where Ann would have previously expected to see exasperation and even jealousy at the thought of her spending time with the farmer, there was now just understanding. It was beyond weird in her opinion. But maybe Cliff had changed for the better during their time apart?

After Ann excused herself from the Festival, she quickly hurried through the deserted streets of Mineral Town towards the Clinic. Her mind was racing so fast from earlier events that she didn't even notice that it had started raining. It wasn't until a loud clap of thunder sounded overhead, that she glanced up and saw dark grey clouds swirling menacingly across the sky. She sighed; it looked as though going to the beach with Cliff was going to be more hazardous than romantic.

Suddenly, the Clinic loomed and Ann felt instantly nervous. What if Jack _was_ badly hurt? What if Cliff had been wrong? A whole collection of 'what ifs' entered her mind uninvited and made her shudder.

Ann didn't know how long she stood outside, just watching the door and trying to summon the courage to actually walk up and open it. _Why is everything suddenly so difficult?_ she wondered miserably.

The Clinic door did open eventually, but not through Ann's doing.

Instead, Elli's face appeared in the small gap. "What are doing out here Ann?" she asked, sounding concerned. "You're going to get soaked." She carefully took in the red-head's bedraggled appearance. "Correction: you are soaked!"

"I hadn't really noticed," Ann admitted truthfully. Then she hesitated, before adding, "I came to see Jack actually. Would that be okay?"

Elli smiled and nodded, causing relief to wash through Ann. Her logic was that if Elli was smiling then nothing could be really badly wrong. With that thought in mind Ann bounded inside, all nerves almost banished.

As she eagerly ran into the waiting area, Jack hobbled out from behind the blue curtain. He was on crutches, but other than that and a cut on his forehead, looked perfectly fine.

At the sight of him, Ann gave out the kind of undignified squeal that her father had always discouraged and flew across the room, nearly knocking Jack to the floor as she hugged him.

"Mmmpf...uh, Ann you're kinda crushing me here," he pointed out in slightly muffled voice.

She released him at once. "Sorry, sorry! I'm just so glad you're okay, that's all."

They slowly made their way over to the sofas in the waiting room, while Elli dashed off to get a towel for Ann's wet hair. "I'm not exactly okay," Jack admitted once they were seated. "I sprained my ankle pretty badly." He paused briefly before sighing, "But that's the least of my worries."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I mean what about Nutmeg? Barley's taking care of him for me, but what if he's so badly hurt that...that..." Jack shook his head despairingly and his voice trailed away to nothing.

"That he can't race anymore?" Ann finished quizzically. She frowned in confusion, not quite understanding why this was such a huge tragedy. It would be terrible of course, but not the end of the world.

Apparently, though, that wasn't what had Jack meant at all. "No," he murmured sadly. "I mean what if he's so badly injured that I have to have him put down?"

Ann fell silent; she understood _that_ clearly enough.

"And then there's the fact that so many people betted on me," Jack added miserably. "Let's just say I'm not going to be too popular for a while."

The look of utter despair on his face was too much for Ann to bear. It actually physically _hurt_ her just seeing her usually cheerful friend so dejected. She felt as though at that moment she would do anything to make him smile. So, Ann stuck to what she knew and tried to remain optimistic.

"Hey Jack. I know it's a bit mad, but by chance did you hear me cheering for you during the race?"

At last he grinned, it was much smaller and weaker than usual, but a smile none the less.

"Ann, love, I think they heard you over in Forget-Me-Not Valley!"

At this comment, Ann blushed the colour of her hair. She wasn't too bothered, though. As long as Jack was happy nothing else seemed to matter right now.

"Here you are Ann." Elli was back towel in hand.

"Thanks Ell," Ann smiled. Then she stopped and stared, wondering how on earth she hadn't noticed before. "Elli, you're pregnant!"

To her left Jack burst out laughing at Ann's lack of observational skills- he'd obviously noticed- but the young nurse practically beamed with happiness. She nodded proudly. "Yes, I am," Elli told Ann, as she ran her hands over the tiny bump. "But I've only just started to show. There's still quite a way to go yet."

"And I keep telling her she needs to start taking it easy," Tim put in, as he wandered over to the group.

Elli turned and frowned at her husband, "And I keep telling him that I'm perfectly fine."

This went on in a similar vein for ages, until Jack leant over and whispered, "I don't think they're talking to us anymore, Ann."

Ann nodded in agreement and the two of them decided to make a sharpish exit- or as sharpish as possible anyway, as Jack was still struggling to get used to his crutches. When they eventually made it outside, it was to find a much different Mineral Town from the one Ann had witnessed earlier.

The dark storm clouds were now moving off into the distance, leaving the sky clear and the air fresh. Ann shivered involuntarily; it was getting late and cold and her towel dried hair was still damp.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Jack looking at her oddly. "What?" she frowned.

"You just look pretty with your hair down, that's all," he explained simply.

Ann could only stare at him. "Firstly," she answered. "I've only got my hair down 'cause it's wet. And secondly, it's all straggly and horrible so how can that possibly make me look prettier?"

There was long pause in which Jack blinked several times. "I don't know," he mumbled at last. "It just does."

Sighing dramatically, Ann flicked her wet hair at him. "Still think it looks pretty now?" she teased as Jack wiped his face. He quickly retaliated by hitting her around the ankle with his crutch.

"So much for you being injured!" Ann laughed, hopping out of the way.

Jack tried and failed to look offended by this comment. "I am," he insisted in a hurt tone. Before long they were both laughing, though not for any particular reason, just because they felt like it.

When she'd calmed down enough, Ann saw that Jack was still watching her with that oddly shy expression. She'd never seen him look like that before and it unnerved her slightly. "What, Jack?" she asked again, this time much softer.

He smiled back. "D'you want to come round to my place for tea or something?"

Ann almost sighed with relief at that; for a minute she'd thought he would say something really weird. "Yeah, of course I'll come Jack-" Then it hit her...what about Cliff? "-Oh, Goddess...Oh no, oh no! Oh Jack I'm sorry!" Ann had started to jump madly from one foot to the other out of panic. If Jack hadn't been looking at her strangely before, he most certainly was now.

"What's wrong Ann?"

Ann wasn't sure what to say to him. After all, was now- considering everything that had happened today -really the best time to tell him that she may be getting engaged? But then what if he found out from somebody else? Cliff was very close to Manna, a notorious gossiper, so it was pretty likely.

As much as she disliked the idea, Ann knew what she had to.

"Jack," she started slowly, not knowing quite how to begin; it was much more difficult than she'd imagined. Before she knew it, Ann found herself avoiding his his soft, brown eyes when he tried to watch her intently, as that just made it harder. "Jack, look, I can't come over to your's 'cause I've got to meet Cliff. I should be there right now actually," she continued, before adding, "We're- well we might -be getting married you see." At this point Ann bowed her head completely, but she needn't have bothered because Jack turned right around and even walked away from her a little.

"You're sure?" he croaked. "Cliff's actually asked you, then?"

Still staring down at the worn bricks beneath her feet, Ann shook her head. Then, when there was no reply she remembered that Jack couldn't see her and spoke up. "No he hasn't. Not yet anyway," she admitted, daring to glance upwards. Jack, however, still had his back to her.

Even though Ann couldn't see his face, she could tell from his tone of voice that he was frowning as he answered. "Well what makes you think Cliff will propose?" he muttered. "Besides, when I saw the two of you together earlier I could tell that something was up." Suddenly, he whipped around angrily. "And do you know what else? I've barely seen you and Cliff together since our talk in the stable that day."

For a moment, Ann was lost for words. To be honest she wasn't entirely sure what reaction she had expected, but surely not this? Finally her voice came back, stronger than ever and she was very grateful for it.

"For your information, Jack," she hissed, as her anger began to take over, "Cliff said that even though we've had problems- which of course were your fault -I still mean a lot to him and he wants to talk to me about something very important. So tell me, what else could that mean?"

It seemed as though Ann's words had at last hit home with Jack. His face fell for the briefest of moments, before he unexpectedly grinned so widely that Ann could only stare.

Very slowly he walked over and patted her arm, still smiling. "If that's the case," he said. "Then I...I wish you the best of luck, Ann. I do. Really. You deserve to be happy, and Cliff...Cliff's a great guy. He's perfect for you, I'm sure of it."

Once again Ann couldn't speak, but this time she had no idea why. Her throat was starting to tighten painfully as Jack spoke, yet she was determined that it shouldn't. He was giving her his blessing and she knew she should be thrilled, but somehow she just wasn't.

_Jack's happy that I'm marrying another man...and I hate hearing it_, Ann thought, _what on earth's wrong with me!?_

Once she reached Rose Square after Jack had left her standing alone outside the Clinic, Ann realised. It was him she wanted, not Cliff. And she'd just missed her chance by being such an idiot earlier._ Jack was going to move on from her, he was happy for her...it was all such a mess,_ she realised too late.

Slowly, Ann made her way down onto the beach to where Cliff said he'd be waiting. It was getting really dark now and as far as she could see it would be a miracle if he was still there.

He was. Ann spotted him straight away, stood alone by the shore watching the waves lapping in and out. She started to wander over, slower than ever, as if she was trying to drag out this moment for as long as possible. Ann was still unsure of what she would say when Cliff asked her.

_Yes or no. Yes or no,_ she wondered miserably. Part of her wanted to say 'yes' because she did care deeply about Cliff and didn't want to upset him, and besides he'd look after her. If she didn't say 'yes' now she might be throwing away her one and only chance of happiness.

But the other (more forceful) part of Ann told herself she was being ridiculous. She couldn't just pretend to love Cliff; it would be awfully unfair to him. Their entire life together would be a lie.

The most annoying thing about the situation, however, was the fact that Ann knew exactly what she'd say if it was Jack proposing...

Eventually, she reached Cliff's side. "Hey Ann," he smiled, turning to face her. He looked so calm, but the red-head could barely manage to grin back.

"Hi," she whispered, uncharacteristically quiet.

Cliff turned back to face the ocean, seemingly oblivous to Ann's emotional turmoil. For the best part of five minutes, she waited as patiently as humanly possible for him to speak, but he seemed perfectly content to keep watching the sea. Just when Ann was on the verge of an explosion, Cliff made a wise decision and began talking.

"Don't you just love waves?" he asked. "Y'know the way they go in and out all the time? Isn't it just cool?"

Ann seriously thought she would go mad. _Why, oh why is he talking about waves of all things, for Goddess sake?_

Thankfully though, many years as a waitress had taught her plenty about keeping her cool when people were acting like complete idiots. And it was very lucky for Cliff too, as overwise he may have ended up with an unfortunate injury.

As it was, Ann said in her calmest voice, "Yeah, they are pretty cool, but, um, didn't you bring me hear to tell me something important?"

"Ah yes."

As he turned to her, Cliff took Ann's hands in his own. Her heart was racing faster and faster once again; it was actually beginning to hurt. Standing together on the sand, Ann tried with all her might to imagine her and Cliff on their wedding day, holding their newborn child, on their anniversary...nothing worked. The brown-haired boy in her fantasies was always the wrong one.

No, wait- the _right_ one. She just took too long to realise it.

"Ann," Cliff said at last, "I'm leaving Mineral Town." She must have looked so shocked because he hurriedly added, "I'm being deadly serious. I leave in a week, and I'm not coming back, not for a long, long while."

For the third time that day, Ann was totally speechless. It just made no sense whatsoever.

Shaking, her head dazedly, she asked the first question that entered her head. "What on earth are you talking about, Cliff?!"

* * *

_A/n- Ooh, we're so close to the end now! Only one more chapter and the epilogue to go! Will Cliff leave? What will Ann do? Find out all in the next chapter! Thanks for reading!_


	18. Starting Over

_**Disclaimer-** I don't own Harvest Moon._

_**Author's note-** The final chapter is here at last and I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed this story at some point. If it wasn't for you lot, I probably wouldn't have finished this, so thanks! Enjoy it, and don't forget, there is an epilogue coming soon as well._

Chapter 18- Starting Over

_"Ann," Cliff said at last, "I'm leaving Mineral Town." She must have looked so shocked because he hurriedly added, "I'm being deadly serious. I leave in a week, and I'm not coming back, not for a long, long while."_

_For the third time that day, Ann was totally speechless. It just made no sense whatsoever._

_Shaking, her head dazedly, she asked the first question that entered her head. "What on earth are you talking about, Cliff?!"_

Ann wrenched her hands from his grip without waiting for an answer and whirled around so she was facing the ocean once more. The waves that had annoyed her just seconds ago, now, ironically, were a source of calm.

"Are you okay, Ann?" Cliff asked quietly, after giving her several minutes to digest the news.

"What do you _think_, Cliff?" she demanded, still not looking at him. "Honestly, what a ridiculous question! Of course I'm not okay!"

She thought she heard him mutter something along the lines of 'sorry', but wasn't paying that much attention. The situation was just too weird. Then, a thought occured to Ann; something she hadn't considered before and couldn't believe that she hadn't already asked.

"Cliff?"

"Um...yeah?" he answered warily.

Ordinarily, Ann would have reassured him that she wasn't about to have another go at him, but there was no time for that. "When you say you're leaving, you mean alone, right?"

Even as she said it Ann felt sure she knew what the answer would be. She was right. "Yes, I'm going alone. It's all worked out for a boat to pick me up here on the first day of winter. Once I reach the mainland I'll search for an Inn to stay at. Luckily, I've saved up quite a bit of money from working at the Winery so I should be okay for a while." Cliff grinned more to himself than Ann, before adding, "I doubt I'll find a place as nice your's though. Ever."

There was something about the finality of how he spoke which told Ann that Cliff was completely serious about this. And by the seems of it he'd been planning it for weeks. Even though she knew it was stupid as she didn't want to marry him anyway, Ann couldn't help feeling betrayed. But still, just because she didn't want to be his wife, didn't mean she wanted the guy to leave town altogether!

"Cliff, you never answered my first question," Ann pointed out fairly. "Why _are_ you leaving? Why don't you want to stay here in Mineral Town with all your friends? It's all so...sudden."

For some reason that Ann couldn't identify, Cliff looked very surprised by her question.

"You really don't know?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Not a clue."

Cliff was almost laughing by now. _"Really?"_

"Yes!" Ann near growled out of exasperation. If there was an obvious reason for his sudden desire to leave, she hadn't worked it out.

"Look, let me explain," said Cliff, relenting. He held out his hand and when Ann somewhat reluctantly took it, he lead her right along the pier and sat down on the edge.

"'You going for a swim?" Ann laughed, as she tried to inject some humour in to an otherwise dire situation. Apparently, though, Cliff didn't see the funny side. He just glanced up and gave her a 'look'.

"Ann, this is serious. Now sit down and I'll explain."

When he said that Ann actually considered retorting out of frustration, 'maybe I don't want your explanation', pushing Cliff into the sea and running like the wind into Jack's open arms. She didn't however. And not because pushing people into the freezing ocean in the dark was frowned upon, but because Jack was unlikely to be that welcoming. He'd probably reject her on the grounds that she only wanted him because Cliff was leaving.

So, instead of acting like she was part of some twisted romance novel, Ann settled for boucing down onto the pier with such force that it shook and rattled worryingly. Cliff certainly looked worried, but Ann just chirped, "Quite unsafe, isn't it?"

Surprisingly, Cliff did see the funny side this time. "I'm gonna miss you," he murmured, looking at Ann fondly.

It was more than enough to make her feel guilty for wanting to shove him into the water earlier. At that point Ann had to look away quickly so Cliff wouldn't see her blushing. It was only then that she realised she still cared for him, just not in a romantic way anymore.

"If you're going to miss me so much," Ann whispered softly, "then why are you leaving?"

Next to her she heard Cliff sigh loudly and say, "It's...complicated."_ Just like earlier_, Ann thought irritably, _why can't he ever be clear on what he means? It's always complicated for Goddess sake!_

Cliff grinned at her. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I'm always avoiding your questions, right?"

"Exactly," Ann agreed. "So come on then, let's hear your big explanation so I can convince you to stay."

Cliff shook his head so forcefully that his short ponytail wiggled madly. "You won't Ann," he insisted. "I'm definitely going."

Even though she nodded, Ann was secretly thinking, _Yeah right. You're going nowhere if I've got anything to do with it_. She was absolutely determined that Cliff would stay in Mineral Town. "Okay," Ann agreed aloud instead. "You are leaving. Got it. But can we please make this conversation a bit quick? Look the stars are even out."

It was true, which surprised Ann a little as she had in fact been exaggerating to make Cliff hurry up.

"Oh yeah!" he smiled delightedly, pointing upwards at the sparkling flecks across the inky black sky. "Aren't they so beautiful, Ann? Aren't they just the most-?"

"CLIFF! Get. To. The. Point."

"Oh, sorry. Well, I suppose this all began when Jack arrived in Mineral Town all those years ago- er, yes Ann?" he added uncertainly, for the red-head had just raised her hand as though she was in a classroom.

"Yes, I was just wondering if it's really necessary to go _right back_ to the beginning of the story. Only I did want to get home before sunrise."

"Ann will you just listen, please?" Cliff sighed. "This is important." He then raised his eyebrows so that they almost vanished into his hair. Ann bit down hard on her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing.

"Fine," she agreed at last, thinking that whatever Cliff was about say had better be worth the long, freezing wait.

"Well anyway," he continued. "When Jack took over Silver-Ridge, I'd only been living at the Inn for a little while. I really liked it there too, but it was you I liked more than anything else. So, for a while I considered maybe asking you out, but then Jack moved in. Everything changed."

Truthfully, Ann didn't have the slightest clue as to what Cliff was babbling on about, but in the hope that he'd soon get to the point, she was continuing to nod along convincingly.

"You and Jack became very close very fast," Cliff went on. "And I don't know if you realised it Ann, but you made it pretty obvious that you fancied him madly."

Ann lept in to defend herself at once. "I didn't!" she insisted forcefully. Then after a moment's pause..."Did I?" She honestly couldn't remember; after all, this happened years ago.

It was darker than ever now, but she could just about see Cliff's eyes twinkling in that irritating, know-all way. Surely he wasn't right though? Surely she hadn't been quite that obvious?

Then Ann remembered something Kai had said to her back in the summer, on Beach Day if she remembered rightly. It was something along the lines of him being surprised that her and Jack hadn't got together. She could almost feel a horrified expression creep onto her face as she realised her secret desires for Jack hadn't been_ that_ secret after all.

The usually confident, assertive red-head was mortified. "Did _everyone_ know?" she muttered, feeling thankful for the darkness as her face burned scarlet.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Cliff informed her reasonably, "but it was pretty much the general assumption around town that you and Jack were a couple."

Ann couldn't believe what she was hearing; she really hadn't known. "But Cliff, what does this have to do with you leaving?" she asked him again as she began to feel increasingly stupid for not having working out where he was going with this. Then again, Cliff wasn't exactly being obvious about it.

"Well Ann, when you and I started dating last winter, I couldn't believe my luck. The only thing I didn't understand was why it hadn't worked out between you and Jack-"

"There was nothing going on between me and Jack!" Ann interrupted through gritted teeth. It was more the fact that she knew nothing was ever going happen for them now that was making her most annoyed.

"If you say so," Cliff smiled, evidently deciding not to argue it out. "Anyway, I loved being your boyfriend, but I guess I knew deep down that it was never going to last."

"Why?" Ann managed to whisper as she felt her throat constricting horribly and her heart rate speeding up. What on earth was he talking about?

"I did love you Ann, I still do, and that's why I'm leaving," Cliff explained quietly.

"So this is some sort of noble act?" said Ann, laughing a little too manically. She felt that if she didn't she'd probably end up crying instead and nobody wanted that.

Cliff hesitated for a moment before replying. "If anyone asks that's the story we stick to, okay?" he joked. "But I'm actually going for myself as well. I just...I need a fresh start, Ann. I know you and Jack are going to get together. You're just so good as a couple. Call it fate or whatever you want, but it's always been him, hasn't it? It's always been Jack, even if you never wanted to admit it. And while I can finally accept that, I still don't think I could take seeing you and him together every single day."

Despite Cliff's words Ann still didn't want to admit her feelings for the young farmer, mainly because she just knew that with Cliff leaving he wouldn't believe that she truly wanted him. She knew Jack far too well, and even though he could be funny, charming and really sweet, he was also incredibly stubborn at times and more easily hurt than he ever let on. As far as Ann could see his reaction to the situation would be anything, but positive.

Sighing, she leant over and peered down at her reflection in the water. It was difficult to make out in the darkness, but she could just about recognise her face looking pale and luminous against the icy black ocean. Probably caused by the shock of everything, she thought grimly, before turning back to her companion.

Without warning, he pressed his lips to Ann's for the very last time and stood up abruptly.

"You and Jack will work it out," Cliff told her simply. "Don't worry about that."

_Don't worry!?_ Ann thought wildly, _That's all very well for you to say! You're leaving soon!_

She didn't actually say any of it though, despite the fact that it was _very _tempting.

Cliff was still stood watching Ann, but he seemed not to notice the distress she was going through. Perhaps he just didn't want to see it. Maybe he thought it would make it easier to say goodbye...

_Yeah, definitely,_ Ann decided, as she glanced up only for Cliff to look away instantly. She thought she heard a mumbled, 'bye', before he wandered wordlessly into the dark night leaving her with a lot to think about.

* * *

The next few days couldn't have gone worse for Ann. She seemed to be getting on the wrong side of absolutely everyone.

First to be annoyed was Doug, who deeply disapproved of his only daughter arriving home at dawn the day after Cliff's big revelation. He wasn't afraid to show it either.

"Do you know how worried I was about you?" he bellowed, when she at last turned up. "And, yes, I know you're a grown woman now, but you could have at least called me! You're starting to treat this place like- "

"A hotel?" Ann suggested lightly. "Because that's pretty much what it is, Dad."

It was intended as a joke, but unfortunately Doug didn't see the funny side at all. Contrastingly, he just exploded worse than ever, before storming off muttering darkly about 'insolence' and 'disrespect' and 'the youth of today'.

Ann rolled her eyes at the time, but little did she know that events were going to continue going steadily downhill.

Unbelievable though it was, even Bracken seemed to be turning against her. And Mary. Yes, _Mary,_ her so-called best friend was frosty as a Mineral Town winter when Ann rang her up to share the news about Cliff.

In fact, Ann only got as far as telling her about Bracken's grumpiness over her having to spend so much time working- it was part of her repayment to her father -when Mary made her hurried excuses and hung up.

All in all it wasn't a great few days, but Ann still felt as though she could cope with it as long as Jack didn't take against her too. She knew that would be just awful, and most unluckily she was soon to discover, first hand, that it really was...

* * *

Ever since Cliff's announcement Ann hadn't had a moment to herself. She just spent day after day work work working at the Inn in an attempt to make amends with her father. And she really did just work, work, _work_ all the time. Doug, it appeared, was not all that willing to forgive her very easily, so Ann scrubbed, mopped, wiped, cooked and greeted, all done with her usual (but in this case slightly false) smile.

Eventually, after what seemed like entire _seasons_, Doug relented and gave his daughter a bit peace for once. Normally, Ann would have been greatly relieved, but with only a few days left to convince Cliff not to leave, she simply didn't have the time to relax.

Then there was the matter of Jack, who Ann hadn't seen since the day of the Fall Horse Races as she was too caught up trying to convince Cliff to stay. Not an easy job at all, considering that her now ex-boyfriend was avoiding her at all costs.

"You're only staying away from me because you know I'm right!" Ann yelled at Cliff's retreating back the morning before his departure. She had tried to corner him on his way to the Winery, but with no such luck. He simply avoided her comments and hurried off down the road without a backward glance. That was when she lost it completely and started shouting. It didn't exactly help too much as Cliff had already vanished into the wine cellar by that point, but Ann was in no mood to stop as her frustrations with life bubbled over into one big screaming match. A screaming match with no one to be precise.

Then, just as a despondent Ann was about to trail back inside, someone did appear. Jack, of all people, was stood at the end of the road, just past the Winery. He stared at Ann for a moment (and to be honest she didn't blame him), then he hurried off in the direction of Silver-Ridge.

At first Ann just blinked slowly and watched the empty space where the farmer had been. Then, she came to her senses, snapping into action.

"JACK! Hey, Jack- wait!"

Luckily for Ann she was fast, faster than most people in Mineral Town even, but then again so was Jack. _And_ he had a head start.

Ann managed to draw up outside the farmhouse just as Jack was shutting the front door on her. "Jack, let me in. Please!" she pleaded in vain; he just continued closing the door, not listening at all. "It's cold," Ann invented wildly. "Don't leave me out here!"

It wasn't exactly a lie, she soon realised, as now she wasn't running the icy weather began to affect her and goosebumps rose on her bare arms. Glancing skywards, Ann noticed thick, heavy looking clouds heading over from Mother's Hill. It looked very much like snow was coming just in time for winter.

She turned her attention back to Jack, and discoverd that she would have to address his newly painted oak door instead. "I know you can hear me, Jack. Talk to me, please, we haven't spoken in ages. I think I know what this is about, but we need to dicuss it. And I mean properly, not though a big wooden board!"

The door did open then and Jack's face appeared. His usual grin wasn't there, though, he just looked angry and, it had to be said, slightly hurt.

"So, you've finally decided to come crawling to me now that Cliff's leaving, eh?" he said so nastily that Ann jumped in shock. It was so unlike him.

"Well - I -if you'd just let me explain - " was as far as she got before Jack brutally cut through her stammered pleas. He pushed his way outside and stood facing her, his arms crossed over his chest in a protective manner.

He looked so annoyed with her that the usually talkative girl was temporarily speechless. When she at last regained her voice all she could say was, "Um...I don't know what to say..." - hardly a response worth waiting for.

Jack, however, had plenty to say. "I just knew this was going to happen," he muttered angrily. "I just knew, when I heard that Cliff had dumped you, you'd coming running back to me."

"You have a high opinion of yourself, don't you?" Ann retorted, without really thinking.

For a second afterwards there was an awful silence, in which Ann wished she could retract her statement and Jack did an excellent, if not exactly flattering, impression of a fish out of water.

"No, that came out all wrong," she mumbled quickly, though he didn't seem to be listening. "No, Jack wait, please - " But he didn't, he just sighed heavily, as though diappointed, and stormed off torwards the Barn.

Still not willing to give up, Ann gave chase and reached Jack just as he was pulling the door open. "Jack it's _you_ I want," she insisted, grabbing him by the arm so he didn't run off mid-speech. "Even if Cliff wasn't leaving I'd still want to be with you, not him. I've been trying to convince him to stay for days. You've got to believe me!"

In the brief silence that followed, Jack's brown eyes stared back at Ann intently and for a moment she thought she had him convinced. He opened his mouth to answer and her heart starting racing with anticipation. Was this it? Was this the big, romantic moment she had been dreaming about...?

"I've got animals to tend to Ann," he told her shortly, probably unaware of just how crushing that simple sentence was.

Ann started to speak again, but then she thought, _no, I'm not going to beg him, for Goddess sake! It's his loss, not mine. His loss. His loss. His loss..._

She kept repeating it over and over again as she left the farm, even though tears were starting to form at an alarming rate. Just as she was at the entrance and about to leave, Ann whipped around furiously, determined to have the last say.

"I'll be at the beach tomorrow, Jack," she announced, looking right at him with wet eyes. "I'll convince Cliff to stay, you'll see. I want him to be here as my friend, and even if he does stay, we won't be getting back together." The farmer just stared, most likely shocked by her sudden outburst. Ann went on, "Just you wait and see, Jack. It'll be you that's sorry in the end, not me."

* * *

Ann was a bag of nerves the next morning. She may have been confident in front of Jack the day before, but putting her plan to stop Cliff into action was a lot more difficult than she first imagined.

For one thing he seemed to have already worked out what she intended to do and made it pretty clear the previous evening that he would not be swayed. Actually, Cliff was so sweet when he pointed out that he hated goodbyes, that Ann almost considered just letting him go without a fuss.

But then he was her friend who she still loved very much, and ultimately he was making a big mistake. Wasn't he...?

Truthfully, Ann wasn't so sure anymore. "Am I doing the right thing, Bracks?" she asked her dog very early that morning. It'd snowed the night before so Ann let her pet into the room with her on the grounds that it was far too cold in the kitchen. Besides, if Doug ever complained about it she could just mention that she knew he let Tilly, the Inn cat, into his bedroom at night so it would be hypocritical of him to tell her off. But then, Ann thought, maybe she'd better just keep her mouth shut and stay on his good side after all the recent arguments.

Ann lay back against her pillows as she continued to to stroke Bracken's soft, silky ears in a circular motion. "No answer, huh?" she chuckled while the dog just yawned hugely and looked up at her mistress expectantly.

Taking the hint, Ann went off to the kitchen to fetch dog treats, all the while thinking about what would happen later that day. She couldn't quite believe that if Cliff did leave as planned, she might never see him again. It seemed unbelievable after all they'd been through together.

In the end, Ann decided she would have to go to the beach to see Cliff, if only for her own peace of mind, and to be there - if necessary - for what would definitely be a painful goodbye.

* * *

Not quite used to the snow and ice yet, Ann slipped and slid all over the street when she rushed out of the Inn in a great hurry later that morning. _Of all the days to be late,_ she thought grumpily, as she picked herself up and wound her old stripy scarf tighter round her neck.

Actually, it was due to the scarf she was running late as her father had made a big fuss about her going out without one. "You didn't care when I was six, why do you care now!?" was Ann's reply and for some strange reason Doug took offense to it, resulting in yet another argument.

And now it was two minutes to ten o'clock - with ten being the time Cliff was due to leave. She was going to have to run.

By the time Ann crashed breathlessly down the beach steps, Cliff was already having his bags loaded onto a tiny vessel bobbing hopelessly on merciless icy waves. He looked up, spotted Ann and groaned audibly.

Ann pulled a face back at him, depsite the fact that her stomach seemed to have disappeared completely.

"I thought I told you to stay away," Cliff frowned as she walked along the pier towards him. He didn't actually look that angry though. Perhaps he was just glad someone had bothered to turn up for him.

"Please don't go!" Ann begged feebly, once she reached Cliff. She knew it wasn't exactly a great argument, but just right now her thoughts seemed a little restricted.

Cliff was currently eyeing her scarf and didn't seem to be listening. "That's nice," he said, nodding at it.

"It's awful and you know it, so stop changing the subject!" Ann retorted, fiercely. She wouldn't have thought it possible, but Cliff was actually making _her_ feel guilty now. It was as though she'd changed from a caring friend into someone trying to hold him back in the space of only a few minutes.

"Look, Ann," Cliff began gently, as though he'd been practising this moment for ages. "I know that you want me to stay here, but, please, I've really thought this through and I know I'm doing the right thing. For both of us - "

"But, but - Jack thinks I'm only interested in him because of you leaving. If you go it'll ruin everything!"

Suddenly, Cliff grabbed Ann by her shouders and looked her squarely in the face. "Jack's a good guy - you know that - he won't want to throw away something this special over something so petty. It'll all work out for you, trust me."

Ann had no choice other than to trust Cliff. Before she could take it in, he'd pulled her into a quick hug, whispered a 'thank you for everything', promised he'd write and then jumped onto the boat and out of her life.

It could've been hours or minutes until his boat vanished over the horizon, but Ann sat on the end of the pier and waited right up until the end. She just felt so..._numb._ He couldn't have left...he just couldn't have...

"Would you mind if I sat here?"

Ann didn't even look up and just nodded automatically. She recognised the voice of course: Jack. _Probably come to gloat..._Ann thought, surprising herself by not really caring either way. He could say whatever he wanted, she was hurting too much already.

"How much did you see, then?" Ann sighed, still watching the now Cliff-free ocean with vague eyes.

"Enough."

"Enough? What does that mean?" she asked, not even daring to get her hopes up. But maybe, just maybe, Cliff was on to something when he said everything would work out. Maybe...if she was lucky...just maybe...

"Ann," said Jack, taking a deep breath. "I'm so so _so_ sorry for what I said to you the other day. It was really out of order and I could totally see, just now, that you really did want Cliff to stay and - why are you smiling like that?"

Ann didn't blame Jack for looking slightly alarmed, as she had just broken into a massive grin and couldn't seem to stop herself. "Nothing," she told him, still beaming. "Just keep talking."

"Um - okay," he answered, taking Ann's hand in his own before continuing (the grin got, if possible, even wider). "I've been thinking a lot and I - I really want to make a go of things with you, s - so to speak. I think I - I love you and I really want to prove it to you - "

"Why don't you just kiss me instead?" Ann suggested casually.

Jack stared back at her, shocked. "W - what?"

"You heard me," she whispered leaning forward slightly.

Now it was Jack's turn to grin. "Okay."

It was without a doubt the best moment of Ann's life, sitting there on the pier with Jack, cold and numb, but completely unfazed by all of it. She just seemed to lose herself in what may not have been their first kiss, but was most certainly not their last.

* * *

_A/n- Well there you have it, the final chapter. Sorry for the unbelievably corny end, but it just seemed like a good place to finish. Expect the epilogue in a week or so, which will wrap up all the loose ends and explain what happens to the other characters, such as Mary. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!_


	19. Epilogue

_**Disclaimer-** Still don't own it._

_**Author's note-** Well, I said in the last chapter that it'd take about a week to post the epilogue, but it took me less time than expected to write it. Actually, that's probably a first for me! Here it is anyway, the final part of the story. Once again I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed the story at some point, as it's been great to read your comments. Thanks so much!_

_**About the sequel-** Really it's not so much a sequel as a spin-off story and it'll have another character as the main one, instead of Ann. Actually, if you read the epilogue it shouldn't be too difficult to see who it's based around. That's all I'm saying for now, but I'll probably have the first chapter posted in a couple of weeks, if not sooner._

Epilogue

"Tea or coffee, Gotz?"

Ann didn't know why she was bothering to ask, really, as she already knew what the answer would be.

It tended to get that way when she seemed to be asking the same question day after day. She just wished the work on the house would soon be completed, so that life could return to normal. Well, as normal as it ever got anyway.

"So, what'll it be then, Gotz?" Ann repeated after he didn't reply. "Tea or Coffee? I'll just get the tea then, shall I? That's what you always have. Right?"

There was a _clink_ as Gotz spat the nails out of his mouth and onto the hard wood flooring, giving Ann an exasperated look as he did so.

"Do you want this second-storey extension finished, or not?"

Ann didn't bother to reply to that; the answer was too obvious.

"Well if you do," the builder continued. "Stop bugging me with your silly questions."

"The tea then?"

Gotz sighed. "Yes, I suppose so."

Before she went off to fetch it, Ann stopped and gave his hair a token ruffle with the reminder that he shouldn't be so rude to paying customers. As she practically skipped off, the red-head laughed to herself when she heard Gotz grumble that she was 'an overly chirpy little thing'.

She made her way through the neater areas of the house and into Jack's - no, _their_ - sun drenched kitchen. At the moment they were in the middle of a glorious Mineral Town summer, very much like the one her and Jack had got married in a year ago, following a two season long romance.

To some people it may have seemed as though their marriage was rushed, but as Jack pointed out at the time: "I really need to get this girl down the aisle, before anything else goes wrong!".

So here they were, Ann and Jack, finally togther. It seemed to Ann as though everything in her life was finally falling into place. She had her wonderful, funny husband, a great home, a successful farm and best of all -

"Maxie! No, you don't eat that, honey!"

Ann rushed out of the kitchen, mid-way through making the tea, to pry dog biscuits out of her mischevious young son's hand. She'd only left him alone in the lounge for the briefest of moments and already he was eating out of Buttons' bowl.

"You're unbelievable, darling, you know that?" Ann cooed, as she swung Maxie onto her hip. The baby gurgled happily and looked at his mother innocently through soft, brown eyes. Ann kissed him on his lightly freckled nose, smoothed his flaming red hair and carried him back into the kitchen.

Buttons himself trailed eagerly after the pair.

Ann grinned down at him, as she attempted to make tea and hold the baby at the same time. "Do you miss your girlfriend, boy?" she asked Buttons jokingly, referring, of course, to her collie-cross Bracken.

Much to everyone's surprise, Bracken turned out to be a great sheep herder. In fact, she'd pretty much round up anything and everything, including Maxie when he was being naughty. That was where she was right now, out in the fields with Jack.

Right one cue, the door to the farmhouse opened and the two of them arrived just in time for lunch. Bracken and Buttons immediately ran up to each other, barking in greeting. Meanwhile, Jack and Ann were a bit more affectionate about it.

Once they pulled out of the embrace Ann took a better look at her husband. "You'd better get cleaned up before we go and visit Mary and Gray after lunch," she told him after surveying his appearance.

Jack groaned. "Do I really have to?" he protested, leaning in to kiss Ann quickly.

"You won't get round me that easily!" she laughed in response, but still returned the kiss nevertheless.

After ruffling his son's hair, Jack dutifully wandered off to the bathroom taking along the cup tea for Gotz. Ann watched him dreamily for a moment, still hardly daring to believe that everthing had turned out so well. There was only one thing that she really regretted and that was that Cliff never did write to her or anyone else, for that matter. For all anyone in Mineral Town knew, he could have died. It was pretty unlikely, but not impossible. Plus it would explain why he never wrote...

Shaking her head sadly, Ann deposited Maxie into his highchair and began to make a start on the salad. To take her mind off Cliff, she chattered to her son. He wasn't the best conversationist, but was still very enthusiastic, nodding his head whenever his mother spoke.

"Are you looking forward to seeing Molly and Jennifer later, Maxie?" _Nod, nod, nod._

Molly and Jennifer were Mary and Gray's twin daughters. They were just at the toddling stage and were the reason for Mary's frostiness torwards her best friend a year or so ago. As Ann later discovered the librarian was incredibly nervous about becoming a mother and for a little while would barely talk to anyone. Eventually, though, she came round and now thought her identical daughters were the best thing that ever happened to her. The young family had also manged to move out of Mary's mother's house and were currently living in a newly built cottage in South Mineral Town. It was absolutely tiny, but very pretty, with a cute garden at the front full of all different types of flowers.

When Jack returned from the bathroom, the couple ate their salad together while Maxie was given a bottle. A tired Bracken curled up under the table trying to ignore Buttons who kept pestering her to play.

"How's it going with Nutmeg?" Ann asked in concern, knowing how long her husband had worked trying to get his injured horse back to health.

Jack shrugged non-committally. "Well," he said slowly. "I don't want to get your hopes up too much, but he is doing a lot better. I think he _may just_ be able to race in the festival this fall."

"Hey, Maxie, you'll be able to see Daddy race!" Ann told her son, excitedly. "Would you like that, honey?"

Even though she knew he couldn't possibly understand her, Maxie got so enthusiastic about it that his bottle went tumbling to the floor in his eagerness. Buttons wasted no time in pouncing on it like it was a chicken - his favourite animal for chasing around the farm.

Once he'd finished his lunch, Jack whipped Maxie out of his highchair and tossed him high into the air, depsite Ann's protests that the baby had just ate. "It'll be your fault if he's sick over you," she warned, even though Maxie seemed fine and just kept giggling at his father.

Putting the baby down again, he turned to his wife. "Right, I need to check on Nutmeg before we leave, okay? Oh, and we're going to need the baby buggy, so I'll fetch that from the storage shed on my way back to the house."

As soon as her husband was gone, Ann began to clear away the dishes and wondered whether or not there was any point in trying to wrestle Maxie's bottle from Buttons. Probably not, she decided, as it seemed to have already been chewed beyond the point of repair.

Just then, the front door clicked open and, much to Ann's surprise, Jack walked back in.

"That was quick!" She started to laugh, but stopped abruptly at the look on his face.

Jack was frowning anxiously down at what appeared to be a piece of paper in his hands. Ann wandered over to him, feeling equally anxious by the sudden tense atmosphere. Even Maxie had stopped babbling in favour of watching his parents intently.

"What have you got there?" Ann asked her husband nervously. On closer inspection it seemed to be a crumpled letter, but she couldn't quite make out who it was addressed to.

"I found it in the mail box," Jack replied, the shock in his voice very clear. When he glanced up, Ann saw that he was unusally pale. "It's addressed to you."

"To _me?_ Really?" Ann hadn't recieved a single letter at Silver-Ridge. Until now, of course.

"Yeah...I think it's from...Well, I'm not exactly sure...Anyway, I've got to deal with Nutmeg so I'll see you in a minute."

Utterly perplexed, Ann looked down at the letter Jack had pressed into her hand before rushing off. Then everything clicked into place as her heart leapt in recognition. It was Cliff's handwriting.

Soon she'd torn the envelope apart and two peices of paper fell out. The first was the main letter which Ann quickly scanned through. Words jumped out at her, such as 'doing well' and 'sorry for not writing'. It wasn't that which caught her attention, though, it was the other bit of paper.

In actual fact, it was a photograph that showed a beautiful, sunny beach. Ann felt she vaguely recognised it, but wasn't exactly sure where from.

Cliff was sat to the left of the picture looking no different from the day he departed. He was smiling too, widely and happily, which made Ann feel quite contented to know he was doing well just like her. Then, she glanced at the person sat next to her ex-boyfriend and her jaw dropped.

It was a young woman and very pretty one at that. Short, scarlet hair framed her pale face, but it was her _eyes_ that really drew you in - they were so startlingly blue you couldn't help but stare.

Ann stared now as she tried to take it all in. Cliff and this woman - that for some odd reason she felt she knew - looked like they were a couple. He didn't have his arm around her or anything, but they were sat _very_ close together...

When Jack re-entered the farmhouse moments later, it was to find his wife in fits of laughter.

He glanced warily at the photograph in her hand. "What's up, Ann?"

The red-head couldn't really explain her sudden outburst. Mainly because she couldn't talk through laughing, but also because it wasn't one of those things you could easily explain. She just felt an indescribable sense of happiness when she found out that Cliff was in fact alive. And by the seems of it very happy as well.

Still grinning, she lunged at Jack and threw her arms around his neck. "I love you, y'know."

"I know, and I love you too," he replied, his voice slightly muffled by her shoulder.

Ann could just tell that Jack had felt ever so slightly threatened by Cliff's letter, and was probably feeling guilty about it now. It was amazing really, she thought, how they understood each other so well.

"Hey, you'll never guess what," Jack began when the couple at last pulled apart. "I just saw Kai and Popuri at the top of the road."

"Wow, I haven't seen them since they got married! I thought they were never coming back to Mineral Town."

Jack nodded with a slight frown on his face. "Yeah, me too," he mused. "But Karen and Rick are getting married in the fall so maybe they've arrived early for the ceremony." Suddenly, he smiled excitedly, as though he'd just remembered something. "Oh and Popuri was also holding a baby!"

"Aw! How old was it?" Ann asked as she scooped her own baby out of his highchair ready to be put in the buggy.

"I dunno, Ann; babies all seem pretty similar to me. Younger than Maxie, I'd say, and wearing blue so it was probably a boy."

Maxie himself was starting to pull at Ann's hair and she struggled to lean away while keeping a hold on him at the same time. "They're so sweet at that stage, aren't they?" she said, grimacing slightly. "They don't yank your hair so much." Sighing, Ann kissed her son on the nose. "Right Jack, we'd better be off. Have you got the buggy waiting outside? I don't think I can take anymore hair pulling, little Max," she added affentionately to the baby.

Meanwhile, Jack slapped his hand to his forehead. "I forgot!" he yelped, before running off calling over his shoulder that he was, "Very, very sorry..."

Ann just chuckled as she was used to Jack getting carried away with other things and acting slightly clueless. He was perfect for her, though, she knew that much. No matter what his faults were. She just hoped Cliff's girlfriend was as perfect for him.

If only she could remember who the girl was...

A little while later it hit Ann, as she was walking with Jack and Maxie to Mary's house.

"Nami," she announced out of the blue, mentally kicking herself for not realising it sooner.

Jack who'd been talking about what to plant in the fall, just stared. "Nami seeds?" he asked, looking bemused. "What are they? And why are you laughing like that Ann? What did I say? Tell _meee_..."


End file.
